In Argo
by Oxenstierna D. Yuki-Rin
Summary: Act II: The Virgo Pirates may have survived the events of Lougetown unscathed, but the implications remain. With a boy from an allied crew joining them temporarily, the Virgos sail into the Grand Line. With new nakama and new dangers, will the Virgos be forced to turn back and leave the Grand Line? And who is this Odette girl who snuck onto the ship?
1. Old Souls

**Author's Note: **Well... This is unexpected. I never thought I would be making a new fic over Spring Break.

Anyway, this fic is going to be a half-AU to One Piece - Much of the canon details will stay the same, but this is a complete AU to my fic **One Piece: Parallel Works**. The Capricorns will be in this fic, but I will warn you - They will be different than in Parallel Works.

Without further ado, let's get this show on the road!

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eichiiro Oda. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Argo** [ahr-goh] - _Noun, genitive Argus_ [ahr-guhs]

1. **Astronomy** - _A very large southern constellation, now divided into Vela, Carina, Puppis, and Pyxis, four separate constellations lying largely south of Canis Major._

2. **Classical Mythology** - _The ship in which Jason sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece._

* * *

_Wealth, fame, power… Gol D. Roger, the King of the Pirates, obtained this and everything else the world had to offer and his dying words drove countless souls to the seas._

_"You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place! Now you just have to find it!"_

_These words lured men to the Grand Line. In pursuit of dreams greater than they've ever dared to imagine! This is the time known as the 'Great Pirate Era'!_

_Many pirates came out of the woodwork during this era of excitement, danger, and immense adventure – Everyone from merciless pirates to kind-hearted pirates who wanted nothing more than to go on an adventure. Although the road to One Piece was rough and many died trying to find this treasure, many of the pirates who set sail would never forget the voyages they went on, the people they met, and, most importantly, the treasures that they collected along the way._

_Eventually, two crews made it to Raftel, the home of Gol D. Roger's treasure – The Blackbeard Pirates and the Straw Hat Pirates. Their fight went on for an entire night, but in the end, it was Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, who proved victorious. With Gol D. Roger's treasure, Monkey D. Luffy was now the Second King of the Pirates._

_In his lifetime, Luffy would make five more voyages into the Grand Line and the New World, all so his crew could have their dreams fulfilled, too. Tragically, at the end of the fifth voyage, Luffy found out that he was dying. With time running out, Luffy had only one other choice – To turn himself in. After Monkey D. Luffy turned himself in, his crew tried their best to assimilate back into society, never to be heard from much again._

_Six months later, Monkey D. Luffy was executed at the same spot Gol D. Roger was executed in Lougetown. His final words were as follows:_

"_You want my treasure?! You can have it! It's right where I left it, in one piece!"_

_And, with the word of Monkey D. Luffy, the Second Golden Age of Pirates had begun._

* * *

"…And, so, that is how the Second Age of Pirates had begun. Are there any questions?"

The class sat in silence, waiting for class to be over and for the weekend to start. As soon as the bell rang a few seconds later, one of the girls in the classroom sprung up from her chair and hurried out of the classroom. She had short, green hair, black eyes, and wore red-framed, rectangular-shaped glasses. Her outfit was rather simple, as it consisted of a plain, black, V-neck T-shirt, olive green cargo pants, black sneakers with white soles and white shoelaces, and a necklace of a green-colored atom; a dark-brown, leather messenger bag was slung over her shoulder.

Exiting the school, the girl began to walk. A few minutes later, she arrived in a large, bustling section of downtown – Large skyscrapers housing resort casinos, apartments, and office buildings greeted her. As it was a Friday afternoon, many people were out and about either running errands or sightseeing. Inwardly, the girl cringed at the sight of it all.

"_Comstock Island. Population – 225,221. Home to Comstock City, Comstock Junction, and Lake Comstock, the island is known for Lake Comstock, the casinos in Comstock City, and the high incidents of piracy, drug use, and prostitution..._"

As the girl recited those facts in her head, distant memories came back as well.

"_Get fucking lost, Mona! You nearly got all of us killed tonight!_"

"_Guys, it isn't my fault that –_"

"_You used that shit excuse back on Xinjin Island! Maybe Heathcliffe is right – Maybe you shouldn't be with us anymore, Sheffield!_"

The girl bit her lip as she entered one of the resort casinos in the city – A forty-story casino with a large, white dome on the lower rooftops of the building. After about a minute or so of walking, the girl looked up into the dome, where she saw somebody sitting in the rafters.

"I'm up here, Desdemona!"

Desdemona gave the person a quick nod before she approached the scaffolding and began to climb up toward the rafters. As Desdemona climbed higher and higher, the person's features became clearer – Messy, black hair, black eyes, olive skin, and many, black tattoos on his arms, neck, and chest. He wore a black, V-neck T-shirt to show off a tattoo of intertwining vines climbing up to his neck, khaki pants, and heavy, black work boots.

"Hey, Jax. What's up?" Desdemona asked as Jax pulled her up to the rafters.

"The usual – Drunk Marines who come back to the tattoo parlor the next day begging me to remove their tattoos, new pirates, and the odd Revolutionary," Jax explained as Desdemona sat next to him. "And you? How's not being a pirate working out for you?"

"It's fine…" Desdemona said, tones of bitterness in her voice. "I got an A today on my chemistry project, so I guess that's good."

Jax laughed in response.

"Your inner chemist is showing," Jax said before taking a swig from a nearby beer bottle. "Science aside… When are you going to go after them?"

"I'm going to start my voyage within the next week or so, if all goes as planned," Desdemona explained. Jax gave a long look to Desdemona – Not the kind a boyfriend gave to his girlfriend, but the kind a concerned father or guardian would give their child.

"I won't be there for you when things go awry. Just so you know, when things get fucked up, you and you alone will have to be the one who fights off the villains, takes herself to the hospital, and recovers," Jax explained. "I'm sure you still remember that night, even though you don't particularly want to."

Desdemona closed her eyes, picturing the scenes from that night and how horrific they were. After a few minutes in contemplation, Desdemona opened her eyes.

"I want to remember it. I want that night to serve as a reminder to what happened and how I grew as a person," Desdemona explained, standing up. "Jax, I want you to tattoo that date onto me. It's too important to forget."

Jax said nothing as he poured his beer down onto the ground below, where it landed on the head of an unsuspecting gambler.

"You're the boss," Jax said, throwing the bottle down to the casino floor.

* * *

An hour and a tattoo later, Desdemona arrived at her house – An apartment in a more suburban area of town. As she unlocked her door, Desdemona noticed the lone letter sitting on her doorstep. As soon as she got into the apartment, Desdemona opened the letter, which simply said the following:

**Dear Desdemona Sheffield, Hettienne Leung, and Griffin Gethard,**

**Remember me? It's your old pen-pal from the South Blue, Eta. It's been so long since we talked, so it must have come as a surprise for you to hear from me after all of these years. So, why am I suddenly corresponding with you again?**

**I want to go out to sea. However, I can't do it alone – I would like you guys to come along and help me out on my voyage. I'll die in the Grand Line if I do it alone, and, plus, it would get really lonely.**

**Should you choose to help me out on my voyage, meet me in Lougetown. There's no departure date for me as of yet, but I think it would be a good idea if we left when we're all together. If not, then I hope I can meet you in real life someday.**

**Your pen-pal,**

**Eta Goodwin**

Desdemona read over the letter a few times, making sure she got all of the details. After a few minutes had past, Desdemona folded up the letter and put it in her pocket.

"The more the merrier," Desdemona said to herself.

* * *

**Ending Note: **And now, for something completely different - I'll be using the end of the chapters to explain the various references/shout-outs in the story.

**Luffy Becoming the Second Pirate King - **My headcanon of how Luffy became the Second Pirate King and died. I believe his story has some parallels to Roger's story (Straw Hat, dying young, etc.). I left out the Straw Hat, since, well, it's probably with the next Luffy in this story.

**Comstock Island - **Comstock Island is based off of the city of Reno, Nevada; The casino Desdemona and Jax shoot the breeze in is based off of the Silver Legacy hotel and casino, which also houses a large dome.

**Xinjin Island Incident - **A very important part of Desdemona's back story, which you will see later on.

**Pen Pals - **I always wanted to do some sort of One Piece fic with elements from Homestuck in it. For now, a fic like that is too complicated, but the idea of four friends/pen pals a la Homestuck... Well, stuck.

**Next chapter will introduce Hettienne with a rather daring escape.**


	2. All the Shipwrights in the North Blue

**Author's Note: **Our fic is slowly becoming popular. It's just going to get crazier and more faster-paced after the next three chapters, and that's all I'm gonna say, so buckle those seat belts, kids.

**Disclaimer: No, I still don't own One Piece.**

* * *

**Tian-Ji, North Blue**

"She's gone. Mei-Li died overnight, Hettienne."

The dark-haired, seventeen-year old beauty clenched her fists at the sound of the news. Hettienne knew her older sister was sick, but she assumed that Mei-Li would get better in time for her marriage to her fiancée, Soong D. Ezra. It seemed like the moment Hettienne Leung's mother made that tragic announcement that the mood in the elegant, yet small, mansion turned tense. All Hell was about to break loose in the Leung household, no matter what would happen next.

"What… What about Ezra?" Hettienne stammered. "He loved Mei-Li!"

Hettienne's mother just sighed in response.

"You are going to marry Ezra in your sister's place. This is so we can save face. It's the polite way of doing things," Hettienne's father explained. Hettienne unclenched her fists a bit, thinking of a compromise or alternate solution to appease her parents.

"What about a ghost marriage? That way, Ezra can still be married to Mei-Li, and I can still do an internship with Leung's Ship Factory or the East Blue Shipwright Company," Hettienne offered. In response to Hettienne's offer, her mother and father chuckled.

"Don't be silly, Hettienne. Nobody practices ghost marriages anymore," Hettienne's mother explained. "And, with your upcoming marriage, your father and I have decided to cancel your internships. Besides, with all of the money, fancy clothes and jewelry, and power you'll get in this marriage, you won't find any time for an internship with a shipwrighting company."

Hettienne took a deep breath.

"What about me?! Why don't you care about how I feel about this?!" Hettienne cried. "Why can't you at least consider MY feelings about this and not yours?!"

Hettienne's parents just sighed.

"That's enough, Hettienne," Hettienne's mother said curtly. "Marla will be here this evening to do the adjustments on your sister's wedding gown so you can fit into it. The wedding ceremonies will be tomorrow as planned. Do I make myself clear?"

Hettienne remained silent, not wanting her opinions to be shot down by her parents. It was clear that Mei-Li was always the favored child, even in death. Now, it was clear that not only Hettienne was "second best" by Leung family standards, but she was also going to be used as an unwilling pawn in the game of climbing the social ladder.

* * *

That evening, after the family had dinner, Hettienne was being fitted into a huge, elegant, red wedding dress by the Leung family tailor, Marla Tracey Simpson. Marla was a woman of about thirty-four or thirty-five with long, wavy, black hair that reached her lower back, dark-brown eyes, and a nose that curved slightly upward. She wore a white, flowy tunic that reached a few inches above her knees, purple leggings that went to just past her knees, and black ballet flats.

"How's Bing doing?" Hettienne asked, referring to Marla's adopted son.

"He's doing well. He wanted to come with me tonight to see you one last time before you were married, but he had to go to a birthday party at the last minute," Marla explained as she helped Hettienne out of the heavy wedding dress. Hettienne remained silent. "You seem down in the dumps. It's about Mei-Li, right?"

"Partially. It's more about how my parents want me to marry Ezra in her place so they can 'save face'," Hettienne explained as she changed back into her previous outfit – A red, Mandarian jacket with black frog clasps and black trim, black skinny jeans, and grey, canvas shoes. "In my opinion, 'saving face' is bullshit. My parents are greedy pigs with no regards to human feelings."

Marla pondered Hettienne's words for a few moments. As a parent herself, Marla felt her motherly instincts kick in with a sudden desire to take Hettienne away from the Leungs and the Soongs and to take her home to the city she lived in with Bing.

"You could come with us to Mammoth Village. It's up in the middle of the Independence Mountains, and it's really beautiful up there," Marla suggested. Hettienne let out a heavy sigh.

"I would love to come with you, but… I need to stay close to the ocean so I can intern with the East Blue Shipwright Company, work with the famous shipwright Kartik Abingdon, and become a famous shipwrighter myself…" Hettienne explained, sounding like she was going to cry. "This situation is unfair, Marla! It's clear that my family liked Mei-Li more, and that I'm just some tool they're using so they can get richer! I don't care about how kind Ezra is – I hate the Soongs, I hate mom and dad, and I especially _**hate**_ Mei-Li! I hope my spoiled bitch of an older sister is in Hell right now!"

Just like that, Hettienne began to cry. Immediately, Marla began to hug her.

"It's okay to cry… You've been going through a very tough time…" Marla whispered as she stroked Hettienne's hair back.

"Marla, what the hell is going on in here?"

Hettienne's mother rushed into the room. Marla then let go of Hettienne and looked Mrs. Leung straight in the eye.

"I am taking your daughter with me. Please understand that this is not a kidnapping, Mrs. Leung – Your daughter does not want to go through with this marriage. She wants to live the life she wants, not the life _**you**_ want," Marla explained sternly. Mrs. Leung glared at her own daughter.

"You are not going with Marla and Bing. You are going to be married to Ezra tomorrow, and you will stay in Tian-Ji and be Mrs. Soong D. Ezra," Mrs. Leung explained. With those stinging words, Hettienne approached her mother and slapped her across the face.

"I am not getting married! You are a cold, heartless bitch! I hate you!" Hettienne screamed. Two maids then rushed into the room, and Mrs. Leung snapped her fingers to get their attention.

"Take Hettienne to her room. She is not to leave her room until tomorrow morning," Mrs. Leung instructed. With a nod, the maids grabbed Hettienne, who began kicking to escape the maids' grasp.

"Marla, help!" Were the last words Hettienne shouted before one of the maids shoved a sedative into her mouth and she blacked out.

* * *

When Hettienne awoke, she was lying on her bed. The room - normally a bright room with pastel-yellow walls and white wainscoting in the daylight or with the lights on - was dark, save for the moonlight coming in through the windows and the light from the bedside clock, which read 11:45 p.m.

Getting up from her bed, Hettienne turned on her bedside light and crouched down onto the floor. Before she could do anything, somebody knocked on her bedroom door.

"It's Marla."

Hettienne walked over to the door and opened it. On the other side was Marla, who was holding a sandwich on a plate in one hand and a glass of milk in the other hand. "Are you alright?"

"Yes…" Hettienne said with a sigh and a wave of her hand, allowing Marla to enter the bedroom. As Marla set the sandwich and glass of milk down onto the nightstand, Hettienne closed the door. Hettienne remained silent as she sat down next to Marla on the bed. "I'm sorry about my outburst earlier. It was just so… Not like me."

"I understand. You're going through a very rough time right now," Marla said quietly. Hettienne said nothing as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"I have a Plan B," Hettienne said in-between bites of her sandwich. "I'm going to run away tonight."

"Tonight?" Marla asked.

"If I stay, things are going to get worse for me. What's the point of waiting to make my escape when I can do it now?" Hettienne asked. Marla said nothing as she handed Hettienne a letter.

"Before you go, I want you to read this letter addressed to you. I managed to intercept it before your father had a chance to look through the mail," Marla explained. Hettienne said nothing as she tore open the envelope and began to read the letter.

**Dear Desdemona Sheffield, Hettienne Leung, and Griffin Gethard,**

**Remember me? It's your old pen-pal from the South Blue, Eta. It's been so long since we talked, so it must have come as a surprise for you to hear from me after all of these years. So, why am I suddenly corresponding with you again?**

**I want to go out to sea. However, I can't do it alone – I would like you guys to come along and help me out on my voyage. I'll die in the Grand Line if I do it alone, and, plus, it would get really lonely.**

**Should you choose to help me out on my voyage, meet me in Lougetown. There's no departure date for me as of yet, but I think it would be a good idea if we left when we're all together. If not, then I hope I can meet you in real life someday.**

**Your pen-pal,**

**Eta Goodwin**

Hettienne covered her mouth in shock. She barely remembered Eta, Griffin, and Desdemona, let alone the last time she wrote to them.

"Eta… And Griffin and Desdemona… They remembered me?!" Hettienne asked herself.

"Were they your friends?" Marla asked.

"They were my pen-pals. We never met in real life, and it looks like that will happen. Eta Goodwin, Griffin Gethard, and Desdemona Sheffield just gave me more of a reason to run from this family and never look back," Hettienne answered. Marla reached into her pocket and gave Hettienne two strips of paper.

"Take these along with you for your voyage. They're Vivre Cards for myself and Bing, so you'll know where we are," Marla explained. Hettienne stood up and hugged Marla.

"Marla, I can't thank you enough. Tell Bing I said 'hi' and that I'll be fine," Hettienne explained before she let go of Marla. "I just wish there was some way I can return you the –"

"It'll be fine. The knowledge that you will be happy and away from this family is enough payment," Marla explained. "Good luck with your voyage and your future in shipwrighting, Hettienne. I hope Bing and I will see you in the future."

With those words, Marla left the room, closing the door behind her. As soon as Marla left, Hettienne crouched back down onto the floor and grabbed the section of wainscoting paneling closest to her nightstand, revealing a secret alcove. All at once, Hettienne reached into the alcove and pulled out several items, including a black, chest binder that resembled a normal tank top, a white, long-sleeved, collared shirt, black combat boots with golden buckles, a black, bowler cap, and a large backpack. Hettienne then stripped her shirt, bra, and shoes off and put on the binder, the shirt, and the boots, stowing her old clothes in the alcove. Slipping the brown, leather backpack onto her shoulders, Hettienne then put the wainscoting panel back into its place.

Looking at the clock, Hettienne then approached her vanity and grabbed a pair of silver scissors, cutting her dark-blue hair until she looked more like a boy. Satisfied with her haircut, Hettienne then grabbed the bowler cap and put it on.

Turning off her bedroom light, Hettienne then tip-toed toward her window, trying to be quiet so she wouldn't wake anybody up. As soon as she approached the windows, Hettienne grabbed a rope from under a pillow on the window seat. Opening the windows, Hettienne tied the rope to the knob of the shutters. Hoisting herself onto the windowsill, Hettienne took one last look at her room.

"_Good-bye, mom, dad, grandpa. It was nice knowing you._"

With that sarcastic thought in her head, Hettienne scaled down the outside walls of the mansion, until she felt her feet touch cool, damp grass. Hettienne then let go of the rope and began to run away from the mansion, far from the world of arranged marriages and cold-hearted families.

* * *

Hettienne kept running, until she arrived in a quieter part of town. As she slowed her pace to a steady jog, Hettienne looked around the town for a place to live. Eventually, she arrived at a two-story motel with exterior corridors and a pool. As Hettienne entered the small, somewhat cramped lobby of the motel, she checked behind her to make sure nobody from the mansion followed her.

"Welcome to Motel 9 of Tian-Ji. Are you checking in?"

Hettienne turned her head to the source of the voice – A kindly-looking old woman sitting behind the desk. Hettienne coughed.

"Yes, I am," Hettienne answered, trying to make her voice sound deeper.

"Do you have a reservation?" The clerk asked.

"No, I don't," Hettienne asked. "Is there a room available?"

"I will have to check. Wait one moment," The clerk said before she went into a back room. Hettienne breathed a sigh of relief.

"_Well, I made it this far. Now I need to pick out a new name for myself…_" Hettienne thought to herself as she began to sign the paperwork for her room.

"You're in luck! We have only one room left!"

The elderly clerk re-entered the room, room key in her hand. "Now, who will you be signing in as?"

Hettienne looked up from the paperwork.

"Henry. Henry Etienne-Long."

The clerk smiled as she handed Hettienne her room key.

"Enjoy your stay, Mr. Etienne-Long."

* * *

The next morning, the Leung family found out about Hettienne's escape. However, unbeknownst to them, Hettienne wasn't in Tian-Ji or even on the island for that matter – She was on a cruise ship headed toward Mountain High, the last city in the North Blue before Reverse Mountain.

"_Authorities in the city of Tian-Ji are asking for your help in locating a missing teenager. The police department of Tian-Ji says that seventeen-year old Hettienne Leung disappeared last night after getting into an argument with her parents over her arranged marriage. Hettienne has long, dark-blue hair, blue eyes, is five feet, six inches tall, and weighs 132 pounds. She was last seen wearing a red, long-sleeved Mandarain jacket with black frog claps, black skinny jeans, and grey shoes. The Leung family and the Soong family, the family Hettienne was supposed to marry into today, are offering a 100,000 Beri reward for any leads on Hettienne's disappearance._"

Hettienne smiled to herself.

"Checkmate," Hettienne said to herself before she took a sip of her coffee.

* * *

_**All The Flowers in Shanghai -**_Hettienne's story is inspired by parts of the novel _All the Flowers in Shanghai _by Duncan Jepson. The book is about a seventeen-year old girl living in Shanghai in the 1930's who is forced to marry her sister's fiancee after her sister dies of cancer. Unlike Hettienne, the protagonist of the book did not make a badass escape from her family.

**Ghost marriages - **Ghost marriages are a practice that originated in China where a man or a woman would be married to a deceased person out of love, money, respect, or power. These marriages are still practiced today all over the world, from India to Sudan.

**Tian-Ji, Mammoth Village, and the Independence Mountains - **The city of Tian-Ji is based off of the city of Tianjin (Tientsin), China, which is a major seaport. Mammoth Village is based off of Mammoth, California, and the Independence Mountains are loosely based off of the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains.

**Internships at shipyards - **I actually thought this was quite hilarious. Hettienne wants an INTERNSHIP at a SHIP yard. Get it?

**Motel 9 - **The One Piece equivalent to Motel 6. Even in the One Piece world, Tom Bodette will leave the light on for the pirates, Marines, and Revolutionaries who stay at Motel 9.

**Mountain High - **The name came from a popular ski resort in Southern California. I imagine Mountain High, North Blue, to be a big city the size of Lougetown, as it is the last place in the North Blue before Reverse Mountain.

**Griffin's story will be next, followed by Eta's! Be sure to leave your reviews in the reviews section!**


	3. The Calamity Griffin Show

**Author's Note: **Griffin's chapter, everyone!

And, yes, I know these chapters sound and feel like the modern world/our world. It won't sound like it the next chapter when I bring in the Shichibukai.

**Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own One Piece.**

* * *

**New Bristol City, West Blue**

"So… Leanne wants us to re-work the sketch about the Revolutionaries?"

"And the sketch about the two, drunk Marines at a love hotel. Who cares, anyway?"

Currently in a small apartment in the bustling metropolis of New Bristol City, two guys around the age of nineteen sat at their kitchen table, re-working sketches for their comedy show. While the taller and stockier of the two males had messy, black hair and wore a blue T-shirt under a black, zip-up hoodie with white sweatshirt cords, dark-blue jeans, and grey sneakers, the other had bubblegum-pink hair and wore a purple, V-neck T-shirt, grey cargo pants, and black-and-white, checkered, slip-on shoes. The apartment itself was rather small - A kitchen counter separated the narrow kitchen from the living room, and a hallway led to two bedrooms and a bathroom.

"I care, Calamity. We're approaching the hundredth episode of The Calamity Griffin Show, and we need everything to be PERFECT," The black-haired male explained. Calamity – the pink-haired male – sighed.

"Griffin, come back down to reality. This is a comedy show only running on a public access television channel, or through livestream on Den-Den Mushi computers, not a big show like Saturday Evening Playhouse," Calamity explained.

"Maybe Seven can help us," Griffin offered.

"Seven barely watches our show," Calamity argued. "Speaking of Seven, where the hell is he? He promises us rent money, and he flakes out on us!"

"Probably at the Shandoran tribal casino down in Queen's Town," Griffin casually answered before he began to suck on his pen. "So… Who's going to be on the big one hundredth?"

"You, me, Leanne Pratt, Aimee Mershade, Seven – if he doesn't ditch out on us -, Marcello Fellini, Esri Kishitani, and… Jeremiah Sarutobi," Calamity read from a list.

"Sarutobi? I thought he went to Baltigo to join the Revolutionaries. Wasn't he also the nephew of Saint Sarutobi II or something?" Griffin asked as he rummaged through the fridge looking for something to eat. "Hey, do you want anything to eat?! We've got cold pizza, cold Chinese takeout, those cupcakes Aimee and Leanne made for us last week, or a can of beer!"

"Heat the pizza up in the toaster oven and we'll split the beer. Throw everything else out," Calamity answered. "_He's right. Where the fuck is Seven with our money?_"

"Who do we have for musical guests?" Griffin asked as he put several slices of pizza onto a plate and shoved the plate into a toaster oven.

"Jeremiah Sarutobi. That's the only guy we have booked," Calamity answered.

"What the hell happened to Vampire Weekday? They're local, and they seemed interested," Griffin asked.

"They passed us up for a pizza party to feed the homeless," Calamity answered dully. Griffin stomped his foot.

"Bullshit! Why can't they just bring the pizza party to US?!" Griffin yelled as somebody entered the apartment.

"Did something happen while I went to get food?"

A man in his early twenties entered the apartment, carrying grocery bags filled with food. He had blue eyes and a rather unique hairstyle - orange, spiky-ish hair that went to just below his chin on the right side of his head while the left side of his hair was shaven off. His outfit consisted of a light-blue basketball jersey with the number 22 on it, baggy, blue jeans, and black, high-top sneakers.

"You missed everything, Seven. The hundredth episode of The Calamity Griffin Show begins filming at eight, and we're screwed. Leanne wants us to re-work some sketches, and Vampire Weekday cancelled their appearance," Griffin explained to Seven, the orange-haired male who just walked into the apartment. Seven set down the bags of groceries onto the kitchen counter in response.

"I bought you guys food that ISN'T cup ramen, frozen pizza, or T.V. dinners," Seven explained. Right as Seven stopped talking, the toaster over behind Griffin exploded and burst into flames. "Yeah…"

As smoke filled the apartment and the smoke alarms went off, Griffin grabbed a fire extinguisher from next to the sink.

"As soon as we get this fire put out, I'll grab my hat and we'll hit the town. How does that sound?" Calamity suggested as Griffin tried to put out the fire.

* * *

After an afternoon on the town that involved everything from a beer or two at the bar to scamming pirates out of their own money at the casino, Seven, Griffin, and Calamity eventually arrived at the public access television studio where The Calamity Griffin Show was filmed.

"Ready for the big one hundred, Sev?!" Griffin asked.

"I actually have to go. I have a ticket for that pizza party for the homeless, and I promised to make an appearance," Seven admitted. Griffin punched Seven in response.

"You asshole! Our hundredth episode is more important!" Griffin and Calamity yelled in unison.

"Feeding the homeless is more important!" Seven argued. "And, besides, I may drop in at some point later on in the show. Keep a look out for me."

Seven then turned around and walked down the street. After walking about ten paces, Seven turned around and walked back to Calamity and Griffin, pulling a note out of the pocket of his jeans. "By the way, I found this on your doorstep. It's for Griffin, and it looks like a love letter from some girl named Eta Good –"

Griffin grabbed the letter and slapped Seven across the cheek with it.

"You read our mail too?! God, you're a bad roommate!" Griffin cried.

"At least I didn't react that way when you read the letter saying I became Shichibukai before I read it," Seven said with a shrug. "But, I digress. I have to go. I'll see you later. If not… We'll go out for drinks later tonight."

"Pass. We're going to the wrap party at Danny's Diner after filming. Maybe tomorrow," Calamity answered before he entered the studio. Griffin sighed.

"Later, Seven," Griffin said.

"Good luck," Seven said before he walked back down the street.

"It's bad luck to say that!" Griffin yelled before he entered the studio. As he walked down the hallway, three women approached him – One had brown hair in a bob haircut, one had blonde hair in a bobbed haircut with two ahoges on either side of her head, and the third one had black hair in a bob and wore round glasses.

"Griffin, did you and Calamity fix the Revolutionary sketch?" The brown-haired woman asked.

"It's fixed, Leanne. Go find Calamity – He should be in rehearsal with Marcello right now," Griffin answered.

"Griffin, Jeremiah just called and said he had to cancel because of an emergency. What should we do?" The blonde-haired woman with the ahoges asked Griffin.

"Aimee, ask Marcello if he wants to revive his gondolier character," Griffin answered.

"The livestream website is having technical difficulties," The black-haired woman said.

"Esri, have you tried turning the computer off and on again?" Griffin asked. "If that doesn't work, go to IT and see if they'll fix the problem."

Eventually, the four made it to the studio sound stage where they do the taping for their show. While some of the cast was setting up on the stage, members of the audience filed in and took their seats on the bleachers facing the stage. Griffin stopped to take it all in – His co-workers, his fans, and, most of all, his show.

"Just another Saturday evening in paradise…" Griffin said to himself as he made his way to the stage, where two, Fishmen stagehands were setting up chairs and a long table to the right of the chairs. "Keep up the good work! I was in your position once!"

"Thanks, man!" The Fishman closest to Griffin shouted. Calamity then rushed onto the stage, a handsome, dark-haired man in a flamenco costume accompanying him.

"Good evening, Marcello. Ready for the one hundredth episode of Calamity Griffin?" Griffin asked.

"As long as you don't make me revive my gondolier act again. Once was enough," Marcello – the man in the flamenco costume – explained.

"Alright, we've got a half-hour until show time! Chop-chop, everybody! We've got to get this show on the road!" Leanne yelled, clapping her hands to get the casts' attention.

* * *

"_What the fuck do you mean by, 'I'm at a pizza party to feed the homeless'?! You're a Shichibukai, not a saint!_"

Meanwhile, with Seven, he was indeed at a pizza party for the homeless of New Bristol City, which was being held at a local event hall. However, he stepped aside for a bit to make an important phone call.

"I'm sorry for going back to my roots and helping the less fortunate. I was there once, Clove. At least I don't have a kid I live vicariously through!" Seven yelled into the Den Den Mushi phone.

"_And at least I don't dress like a broke, lazy, college student!_"

"At least I am not a bipolar bitch!" Seven yelled.

"_At least I don't frequent casinos looking like a down-on-his-luck bum!_"

"At least I'm not a bitchy, pageant mom!" Seven yelled. At that point, a few people stopped and watched the telephone argument between Seven and Clove play out, wondering how it would end.

"_At least I don't have two roommates who mooch off of me!_"

Seven furrowed his brow in frustration. Clove had just touched a nerve by bringing up his living situation with Griffin and Calamity, and Seven was the only member of the Shichibukai who knew that Griffin Gethard and Calamity Quintus-Tyler weren't freeloaders – They were just two comedians trying to get by with a comedy show on public access television.

"At least my spouse didn't leave me for being a huge bitch," Seven said into the receiver of the Den Den Mushi, his voice dark and almost faint. A suspenseful hush fell over the crowd and Seven, a hush of uncertainty of what the Shichibukai Clove "Mommy Dearest" Zales had to say next.

"_When meet again for the next Meeting of the Shichibukai, I will behead you and display your severed head on the mantle of my living room fireplace._"

On the other line, a loud "click" resonated through the speakers of the receiver, indicating that Clove had hung up on Seven. Almost embarrassed for himself for causing such a scene, Seven slowly turned back to the spectators, who were starting to leave the area now that the fight had ended.

"Nothing to see here, folks. Carry on with your evening."

* * *

Back at the public access studio, things were in more of a joyful mood. Filming of episode 100 of The Calamity Griffin Show was in full swing, and the small, but entertained, audience was enjoying every second of it.

"…And, that is why we are never going to ask drunk pirates for directions again," Griffin said to the audience, his voice barely audible over the audience's laughter.

"Did somebody say 'pirates'?"

Seven then came onto the stage, causing half of the audience to applaud.

"Speak of the Devil! Please give a warm welcome to Seven 'Lucky Seven' Weintraub – A member of the Shichibukai, a gambler, and – most importantly – a friend to the cast of The Calamity Griffin Show!" Griffin announced. As the audience's applause died down, Calamity grabbed a microphone and handed it to Seven.

"I know this is a cliché, but… It truly is a pleasure to be here. I have been a fan of The Calamity Griffin Show ever since episode one. Hell, I've been a fan since the idea was conceived at two in the morning at a seedy bar catering to pirates over in the Haarem borough," Seven said into the microphone. "I may be a Shichibukai, but I know where my loyalties lie – New Bristol City is my home, and this show is the shining opal in New Bristol City's crown. My strongest loyalties don't lie with my pirate crew, but with this cast – Without Leanne Pratt and her leadership skills, this show would not be airing. If it weren't for Aimee Mershade, I would not be here on this stage right now. Esri Kishitani and her IT crowd know how to get this shit online so other people can see this. And, last but not least… Without Griffin Gethard and Calamity Quintus-Tyler, none of us would be here right now."

The audience cheered loudly, happy that they were fans of The Calamity Griffin Show and happy that they could witness this moment in person.

* * *

After the filming wrapped on the hundredth episode of The Calamity Griffin Show, the cast – with Seven in tow – headed down to Danny's Diner for a wrap party. Even though the night was still young, the cast of the show were the only patrons of this small, greasy spoon diner that evening.

"Reviews on the episode are coming in like hot cakes. People on our Tumblor page are sending in so many positive messages and reviews," Esri commented, not looking up from her smart Den Den Mushi phone.

"This is a sign. Any more praise, and the studio executives at Twenty Rock Street are going to be begging us to bring The Calamity Griffin Show onto mainstream television," Leanne explained.

"They already have Saturday Evening Playhouse. We should try for OFC or for the Central Comedy Channel," Marcello pointed out, using his fork to make a gesture to prove his point.

"OFC? That network screams 'Pretentious Hipster Programming'. I mean, have you SEEN Lougetown-Landia?" Seven asked everyone.

"Isn't Rave and Li's Local Commercial Show already on OFC?" Aimee asked everyone.

"They're kind of like us, where they started out online," Calamity argued. "Esri, see if you can send Rave and Li a message and ask for a collaboration."

"You've got it," Esri said. Griffin raised his empty coffee mug.

"Well, I propose a toast to us! We fucking did it – One hundred episodes!" Griffin announced. His cast mates raised their glasses and mugs in response.

"Cheers!"

* * *

It wasn't until the sky lightened from a midnight black to the steel-gray and pink of sunrise when Griffin, Calamity, and Seven returned to their apartment, still fueled with the excitement and joyfulness that came with the previous night's events.

"Good night, everyone," Griffin said, lying down onto the couch.

"It's five in the morning," Seven corrected.

"Whatever!" Griffin yelled to his roommates as they went into their separate rooms. As Griffin rolled over to try and fall asleep, he felt something from inside the pocket of his jeans poking him. Irritated, Griffin sat up and reached into his pocket, pulling out the letter Seven had opened earlier in the day.

**Dear Desdemona Sheffield, Hettienne Leung, and Griffin Gethard,**

**Remember me? It's your old pen-pal from the South Blue, Eta. It's been so long since we talked, so it must have come as a surprise for you to hear from me after all of these years. So, why am I suddenly corresponding with you again?**

**I want to go out to sea. However, I can't do it alone – I would like you guys to come along and help me out on my voyage. I'll die in the Grand Line if I do it alone, and, plus, it would get really lonely.**

**Should you choose to help me out on my voyage, meet me in Lougetown. There's no departure date for me as of yet, but I think it would be a good idea if we left when we're all together. If not, then I hope I can meet you in real life someday.**

**Your pen-pal,**

**Eta Goodwin**

Griffin sighed to himself. Although going out to sea and meeting his old pen-pals for the first time seemed like an adventure, he still had to work on The Calamity Griffin Show.

"I'll think of something in the morning," Griffin said to himself as he put the note down onto the coffee table and laid back down on the couch.

* * *

**New Bristol City - **This is supposed to be the One Piece version of New York City. Queen's Town is Queens, and the Haarem Borough is Harlem.

**The Calamity Griffin Show **- The Calamity Griffin Show draws its inspiration from The Chris Gethard show, a comedy show that airs on public access stations in New York and online.

**Television, livestream, and DenDen Mushi computers and smart phones **- This fic takes place twenty-five years after Luffy is executed, and several decades after Luffy set sail, so technology in the One Piece world has progressed significantly.

**Saturday Evening Playhouse - **A reference to Saturday Night Live.

**Shandoran tribal casinos - **I have a headcanon that Shandoran/Skypeian tribal casinos are the One Piece equivalent to Indian gaming casinos.

**Leanne Pratt and Jeremiah Sarutobi - **If you read my other One Piece fics (*cough*ParallelWorks*cough*), you'll know who Leanne and Jeremiah are related to. But, I'm still saying it up-front - Leanne Pratt is Miller Pratt's aunt. Jeremiah Sarutobi is Heathcliffe, Holden, and Soren Sarutobi's cousin. There. I said it.

**Vampire Weekday and pizza parties - **Vampire Weekday is supposed to be the in-fic equivalent to the band Vampire Weekend. The pizza party mentioned in the chapter is a reference to the song _Pizza Party _by L'Homme Run, a joke rap group the lead singer of Vampire Weekend was in.

**Tumblor - **It's supposed to be Tumblr.

**Twenty Rock Street - **A reference to 30 Rock, the offices of NBC, who just happen to produce Saturday Night Live.

**OFC, Lougetown-Landia, and Rave and Li - **The OFC is a knock-off of the IFC channel, which mainly caters to an indie/hipster audience. Lougetown-Landia is a knockoff of the show Portlandia, and Rave and Li are knock-offs of Rhett and Link.

**Central Comedy Channel - **Knockoff of Comedy Central.

**We're going to do something different in the next chapter, and it will pick up from where this chapter left off! Sort of.**


	4. Meeting of the Minds

**Author's Note: **Happy Easter, everyone! The Easter Bunny decided to give me this chapter for Easter, so... Here you go.

**Disclaimer: Did the Easter Bunny give me the rights to One Piece? No. Therefore, I don't own One Piece.**

* * *

The celebratory mood of the cast and crew of the Calamity Griffin Show continued well into the next afternoon, where Griffin and Calamity were setting up for a party in their small apartment. However, Seven was the only one who wasn't in a celebratory mood; instead, he was nervously pacing up and down the apartment, with an occasional glance at the clock on the wall.

"What's with you, Seven? Parties suddenly making you nervous?" Griffin asked, hanging streamers onto the ceiling.

"I'm actually not attending the party. I have to attend a poker night at The Foundling, and I'm required to go," Seven answered.

"The Foundling? Isn't that the most expensive poker room in the West Blue?" Calamity asked. "And, besides, you're not even dressed properly for The Foundling. You're dressed like you're going to a New Bristol City Clownfish basketball game."

Seven briefly looked down at his basketball jersey, jeans, and sneakers.

"I'll just give the doorman money. He probably has a wife and kids," Seven stated, grabbing his apartment key from the kitchen counter. "I'll see you guys later tonight."

Griffin sighed.

"You need to stop ditching out on our Calamity Griffin Show stuff. It's starting to get rather annoying," Griffin explained.

"It's not my fault I'm a Shichibukai. You can blame Fleet Admiral Coby for this meeting," Seven said before he exited the apartment. Griffin just stood there in silence, before he mumbled something about needing money from Seven.

"You say something?" Calamity asked.

"No," Griffin lied.

* * *

By sunset, after about a half-hour of walking, Seven had arrived at The Foundling, a large, grey, ten-story building. From the street, nobody could see what was going on inside, as blackout curtains were drawn over every window. Between the dull, grey colors of the exterior and the blackout curtains constantly drawn, nobody knew went on inside The Foundling.

Reaching into his pocket for his wallet, Seven entered the building. Contrary to the outside, the inside was much more cheerful and bright – White marble floors, red carpets with gold threading, dark wood-paneled walls, and a gold chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Besides Seven, only a handful of people were in the room, milling about.

"What is your purpose here today?" A well-dressed man asked Seven. Seven pulled out about five hundred Beri out of his wallet

"I'm here for the poker night," Seven said, handing his money to the man. As soon as the man was given his money, he immediately knew who we was dealing with.

"Right this way," The man said, leading Seven into an elevator and pressing the button marked 7. "Come here often?"

"Just for the odd poker game. I usually gamble at the Shandoran tribal casino down in Queen's Town," Seven answered. "I'm surprised I haven't run into Zander Leach at the casino yet. You know, the Shichibukai who used to be a tribal leader in Shandora."

As the elevator doors opened on the seventh floor, the man in the suit simply nodded.

"Here is your floor, sir. Good luck tonight," The man in the suit said.

"Thank you," Seven said as he stepped into the large room. While the floors were still the same, white marble from downstairs, the walls were painted a bright, creamy yellow color. In the center of the room was a large, round table, where a tall, pink-haired man in a Fleet Admiral uniform sat. To the right of the Fleet Admiral sat a pretty, young woman with black, bobbed hair, black eyes, and pale skin. Her outfit was simple – A white sundress, black flats with bows on them, and a large, black sunhat.

"Seven 'Lucky Seven' Weintraub, it's nice to see you again," The Fleet Admiral commented.

"Same here, Fleet Admiral Coby, 'Spider Webb' Remy Webb," Seven said, sitting down to the left of Coby. "What's the latest news from the world?"

"That's why I chose The Foundling as the location of this meeting. We have some major things to discuss, and Mariejois wouldn't be the place to discuss them," Coby explained.

Remy – the black-haired girl sitting on the other side of Coby – looked up.

"She's not coming, is she?" Remy shyly asked.

"Not coming? I'm already here, honey."

A beautiful, black-haired woman strode into the room; she wore a black, Mandarain dress with red trim and black heels. This woman was Shenhua Jiang, better known as the Dragon Lady. As the Dragon Lady took her seat next to Remy, Remy shrunk back, subtly moving her seat towards Coby.

"Jiang, if you try _**anything**_ funny with Remy, I will kill you!" Seven yelled. The Dragon Lady smirked as she touched Remy's cheek with one, long fingernail.

"Try anything funny? What happened in the past between me and Remy is past. Forgive and forget, right?" The Dragon Lady asked. Remy said nothing as she blinked back tears. To Remy Webb, the events that happened between her and the Dragon Lady couldn't be buried in the past. Between the nightmares, panic attacks, and constant paranoia, Remy was very unwilling to bury the hatchet between her and the Dragon Lady when she became a Shichibukai.

"We all know what you did, Jiang. You ruined Remy's life," Seven stated. The Dragon Lady smirked.

"She threw away a wonderful opportunity. If that slut didn't become a Shichibukai, I would have her tortured and killed," The Dragon Lady explained, poking her finger into Remy's cheek.

"Please! Stop!" Remy pleaded.

"I don't see how you became Shichibukai when all you do is cry like a little baby. How weak," The Dragon Lady commented.

"Hey! Seven told you to leave Remy alone! Drop it!"

Another male sat down, sitting next to the Dragon Lady. This man had spiky, platinum-blonde hair, black eyes, and blue tribal markings surrounding his eyes. Showing off his muscular figure, large wings, and tribal tattoos, the man wore no shirt and shoes, only wearing a pair of torn, purple pants and a necklace made of bones.

"Hello, Chieftain Zan. It is a pleasure to see you," The Dragon Lady said seductively. Zan slapped her across the face in response.

"How many fucking times do I have to tell you that it's 'Zander' and not 'Zan'?!" Zan – or rather, Zander – yelled. The Dragon Lady opened her mouth to say something, but Zander cut her off. "Don't bother opening your mouth, you whore. In fact, let me switch seats with you. This woman does not need to be terrorized by her worst nightmare on an ongoing basis."

With a "hmph", the Dragon Lady and Zander got up and switched seats, so that Zander was now sitting next to Remy.

"Thank you," Remy whispered.

"Did we miss anything?"

Two males entered the room – A twenty-three year old, white-haired man with a sinister grin and a forty-year old, tired-looking, green-haired man. While the white-haired man wore a black jacket with a high neck, black jeans, and black boots, the green-haired man wore a blue, collared, button-down shirt, a rumpled-looking, tan jacket, dark-brown slacks, and gray-colored dress shoes.

"Welcome, Kuro 'Chiaroscuro' Endo and 'Doctor' Garth Sheffield. Pleasure to have you," Coby greeted the two Shichibukai. Kuro just glared at Coby as he and Garth took their seats.

"Can we get this meeting over with?! I need to go to the Grand Line!" Kuro yelled.

"Kuro, we are still waiting on Clove Zales. The meeting will not start until all members of the Shichibukai are here," Coby calmly explained. Kuro crossed his arms.

"Look, Coby, the majority of us have side-jobs. Clove is a batshit insane pageant mother, Seven is a compulsive gambler, the Dragon Lady pimps people out, and I contract assassins to kill people. Should we slip up in any of our jobs, we lose money," Kuro explained calmly, but with several hints of malice in his voice.

"Excuse you, Endo! At least I am a mother!"

At that moment, the last member of the Shichibukai entered – Clove "Mommy Dearest" Zales. Clove had black hair in a pixie cut, black eyes, and wore red lipstick. She wore a white, sleeveless dress shirt, black capri pants, and black kitten heels.

"Oh, hello, Clove. Always a pleasure to have you here," Kuro replied sarcastically. Clove gave Kuro a death glare and sat down.

"Make this quick, Coby. Giovanna and her dance team are returning home in an hour or so, and I need to pick her up," Clove said bluntly as she got out a nail file and began to file her nails. Coby cleared his throat.

"Welcome, everybody," Coby announced to the Shichibukai. "Let us begin with the minutes from our last meeting."

As Coby droned on about the last Shichibukai meeting, the Shichibukai themselves retreated into their own thoughts and distractions from the droll minutes. Seven thought about the party Calamity and Griffin were throwing at the exact moment, the Dragon Lady, Zander, and Kuro threw somewhat angry glances toward their fellow Shichibukai, Clove filed her nails, Remy reached for a long knife holstered to her thigh while imagining what it would be like to slit the Dragon Lady's throat, and Garth tried to pay attention to Coby.

"Alright, I bet you're all wondering why I called all of you to the West Blue," Coby announced. Almost immediately, the Shichibukai suddenly paid attention to the Fleet Admiral. "Recent scandals, deaths, and resignations throughout the ranks of the World Government have exposed serious weaknesses in the World Government's system. I'm sure you all heard about how every member of Cipher Pol 5 was fired for the botched assassination in the East Blue –"

"They assassinated one of my contacts! This is unforgivable!" The Dragon Lady shouted, pounding her fists onto the table.

"Nobody cares, Jiang. Build a bridge and get over it," Seven said bluntly.

"Anyway… We are thinking about expanding the Shichibukai and our influence. It would be dangerous to hold onto the old order. Things are changing right before our eyes, and we need to adapt or get left behind," Coby explained. Everybody grew silent, unsure of how Coby's plan would work out, or what its effects would be.

"What are you saying?" Was the first thing spoken, and it came from Garth.

"We need to give the Shichibukai system a major overhaul. Seven Warlords is not enough in the Second Golden Age of Pirates. If we increase our capacity from seven Warlords to twelve, we can nip any problem the World Government may have in the bud. These extra Warlords can act as our eyes and ears for the world and its future," Coby explained. "Anybody against my plan?"

Remy shyly raised her hand.

"How would this stop all of the scandal and death?" Remy asked. "By adding five more Warlords, we're only going to make the problem worse. Twelve Warlords could mean the end of the World Government."

"I've got an idea," The Dragon Lady announced. "We try things out by taking a pirate crew under our wing. If all goes well, we may expand our numbers. If not, then we can revert back to our current numbers."

Coby pulled out a stack of papers.

"That is exactly what I plan on doing. We are to take a pirate crew under our tutelage for a trial period," Coby answered. "However, we already have a pirate crew picked out. I am now about to pass around various photos, incident reports, and newspaper clippings covering this crew. As you pour over them, I think you'll find that this crew is right for the job."

As the Shichibukai looked at the papers, they noticed a recurring theme – This pirate crew consisted mainly of young and beautiful people in their teens or twenties, and they mainly did the actions they did to rescue their fellow crew members or to save people. While the Dragon Lady came close to having a conniption fit over who this pirate crew was, much of the Shichibukai didn't have much of a reaction.

"Can they get anybody else besides fucking kids?!" Kuro yelled, looking at yet another picture of the crew.

"It says here that one of the crew members is a forty-year old man. That's not a kid, Kuro," Seven answered sardonically.

"Does anything pique your interests?" Coby asked. "Any words or incidents?"

"The entire crew piques MY interests! They're the ones who got together to murder my contacts!" The Dragon Lady yelled.

"Nobody cares about your fucking contacts!" Kuro yelled from across the table.

"Just like how nobody gives a fuck about all of the Marines you've had assassinated!" The Dragon Lady retorted. Coby put a hand up to silence the two.

"Anything else _**besides** _how they've killed contacts the Dragon Lady had?" Coby asked. Garth silently handed him a photo of a green-haired, glasses-wearing girl holding a Molotov cocktail among a huge, crowded fight. The girl wore a white, corset dress with black lace trim, black, heeled ankle boots, a black blazer with large, gold buttons, and laboratory goggles.

"Please leave my daughter, Desdemona Sheffield, out of this. I don't think my daughter is a member of the Capricorn Pirates. If she were… Well, we would know," Garth explained to Coby, who smiled in response.

"Garth, you'll be glad to know that there are no records of your daughter – including any wanted posters," Coby explained. "Speaking of which, how is she doing?"

Garth smiled back.

"Desdemona is doing all right for herself."

* * *

**Zurich Junction, South Blue**

A girl with short, black hair gasped as she read the paper. What did the Shichibukai mean by "We're taking an entire pirate crew under our wing and this may result in a new order for the World Government"? From what the girl guessed, it would not end well.

However, the girl didn't know that she was going to play a part in the Shichibukai's new order. It didn't matter if her part was big or small – All that matter was that Eta Goodwin needed to get to Lougetown in order to meet her friends.

* * *

**The Foundling - **It's up to you and your interpretations as to what really goes on inside The Foundling.

**Fleet Admiral Coby - **Okay, time to explain the timeline of this period - Luffy is executed twenty years after the time skip at age 39. According to One Piece canon, the time skip ended in 1524, and Luffy is executed twenty years later in 1544. This fic takes place in the year 1569, twenty-five years after Luffy dies. The world of One Piece will obviously change between the current point in the manga until after Luffy dies, so don't be surprised that in this fic, Coby is a Fleet Admiral or there's a grandchild to one of the Supernovas (that's totally not going to happen).

**Clove "Mommy Dearest" Zales - **Clove is based off of those crazy pageant/dance/cheerleading/stage moms you see in shows like Toddlers and Tiaras and Dance Moms. Heck, the name of her daughter, Giovanna, was named after one of the girls on Toddlers and Tiaras.

**Twelve Warlords - **Again, this is forty-five years after Luffy's voyage. A lot can change in those forty-five years.

**Anyway, there was a lot of important stuff in this chapter, so next chapter is going to be a bit shorter. A new character or two may also join.**


	5. Prepare the Preparations

**Author's Note: **Alright, people, this is where everything in the fic truly takes off - With Eta, Griffin, Desdemona, and Hettienne on their way to Lougetown, they're going to meet some new and important characters, face their fears, and get into fights. Who is ready for everything to be truly "In Argo"?

**Summary: I do not own One Piece.**

* * *

When Seven got back from The Foundling a few hours later, he was greeted by a panic-stricken Calamity.

"Seven, it's so terrible! We lost Griffin!" Calamity sobbed. Leanne walked over and lightly hit Calamity on the back of his head.

"Stop being so melodramatic," Leanne said sternly to Calamity before she turned her attention to Seven. "Griffin's gone missing. Apparently, he left behind a note saying that he was taking a boat to Brigadoon."

"Brigadoon? That's right before Reverse Mountain," Seven pointed out.

"Exactly! Do you think he's going to the Grand Line or something?" Calamity asked everyone. Seven sighed.

"It would be very out of character for Griffin to do that. He has a show and friends he left behind," Seven stated. The DenDen Mushi then rang.

"I swear to God, if that is the Marines calling saying that they found Griffin's body floating in the ocean, I'm going to hunt down and kill the person or parties responsible!" Calamity yelled as he walked over to the DenDen Mushi and picked it up. "Hello?!"

"_Calamity? It's me, Griffin_."

"Griffin?! Holy shit, you're alive!" Calamity yelled. "Where the hell are you?! Leanne, Marcello, Aimee, Esri, and Seven are all at the apartment, and we're all worried sick about you!"

"_I hitched a ride to Brigadoon. From there, I'm going straight to Lougetown in the East Blue. Do you remember my pen-pals?_"

"Who?" Calamity asked. "Look, if this is some mail-order bride shit happening, come home now. I am NOT ready to bring mail-order mermaid or Fishwoman brides into this!"

Griffin went silent for a moment. Then, he chuckled nervously.

"_As far as I know, Eta, Desdemona, and Hettienne are people, not Fishmen. They were my pen-pals in grade school, and Eta wants us to get together for a pirate voyage into the Grand Line._"

Calamity grew silent as he turned to the rest of his friends. Marcello just nodded in response, signaling that Calamity should say something back.

"We're coming for you, man! Marcello, Esri, Aimee, Leanne, Seven, and I are taking The Calamity Griffin Show on the road! People love it when their favorite shows go on the road!" Calamity shouted into the receiver. "Just watch, The Calamity Griffin Show will become even more popular because of this! Mark my words!"

"_I'll take your word for it. I have to go, though – I'm on a pay DenDen Mushi, and my time is almost up. Take –_"

The line then went dead. With a dejected, almost defeated, sigh, Calamity hung up.

"I didn't say that we were going to follow him," Marcello pointed out. Calamity threw his hands in the air out of defeat and annoyance.

"You gave me the go-ahead to say something. Don't look at me like that," Calamity argued. "Now, can somebody get us boat tickets and somewhere to stay once we get to Brigadoon?"

"My family moved to Brigadoon recently. My dad and brothers are lumberjacks, so they have to move where the work is," Leanne explained.

"Can we stay with the lovely and hard-working Pratt family while we're in Brigadoon?" Calamity asked.

"Calamity, you know I have seven brothers – Halle, Sparrow, Orris, Gale, Gaerik, Jonas, and Lundy. We can find room at my house, somehow," Leanne explained. Calamity laughed in response

"What the hell kind of names are those?! What hippie, forest drugs were your parents on when they came up with those names?!" Calamity yelled in-between laughs. Leanne then slapped Calamity across the face.

"Just so you know, all of those names are normal names on Portland Island, North Blue," Leanne pointed out. "I may have had seven, lumberjack brothers, but I turned out just fine."

"Leanne and her family aside, we should probably get a move on with finding Griffin," Seven stated. "The sooner we find him, the better off we'll be."

* * *

Five days later, Hettienne arrived in Mountain High, a large, snowy city with huge mountains surrounding the city. However, as it was a beautiful, spring day, much of the snow was confined to the mountains.

Currently, Hettienne was exploring the city, as she had a few hours to spare before she was supposed to board a ship to Lougetown.

"Guess I'll need some new clothes… Maybe even a weapon…" Hettienne mused to herself. Then, she bumped into a teenaged girl with blonde hair in pigtails, blue eyes, and ski goggles with light-blue frames. She wore a light-blue T-shirt, white cargo pants, and black canvas shoes. "Sorry…"

Hettienne then faked a cough, as she neglected to disguise her voice.

"It's alright," The girl answered. "Hey, are you going to Lougetown by any chance?"

"Yeah. Why?" Hettienne said, making sure to disguise her voice so she wouldn't get caught.

"Do you know where I can find the nearest cruise ship office? I need to get a ticket to Lougetown," The girl asked.

"I can take you there right now, if you like," Hettienne offered.

"Sure!" The girl answered. "I'm Matilda, by the way. Matilda Proteus."

"I'm Henry. Pleased to meet you," Hettienne introduced herself. Matilda just gave Hettienne a confused look. "What?"

"Your voice keeps switching from a guy's voice to a girl's voice. Is there something I'm not aware of, or…" Matilda asked. Hettienne leaned closer toward Matilda.

"My real name is Hettienne. Yes, I am THE Hettienne Leung that went missing," Hettienne whispered into Matilda's ear. Matilda went silent.

"Why… Did you run away?" Matilda asked. Hettienne just sighed.

"My sister passed away a few days ago. She was supposed to get married this week. Now that she's dead… My family wanted to marry me off to my sister's fiancée, and I had no say in the matter," Hettienne explained. "Do you promise not to turn me in? Part of the reason I ran away was so I could become a shipwright, and –"

Matilda stuck her hand out.

"Trust me. We're getting out of the North Blue together," Matilda said. After a moment, Hettienne grabbed her hand.

"Let's go," Hettienne said to Matilda.

* * *

**The Slag Heap, East Blue**

The Slag Heap was the worst island anybody could live on in the entire world. Not only did Saint Ares, a World Noble with a love of blood, torture, and death, and his entourage rule the Slag Heap and the fifteen, divided Sectors of the Slag Heap with an iron fist, but he also had a very brutal system in place – Every year, one teenager between the ages of fifteen and eighteen from each Sector would be picked (fifteen teens in total), and they would be taken to Saint Ares' palace, where they would be locked inside and tortured, physically and mentally, for six weeks straight, and it usually ended with almost all of the teenagers dying at the end of the period. There was a teen or two who escaped or was spared every year, but most of them committed suicide shortly afterward.

Unfortunately, there was also a messed-up system in place where people could nominate what teenagers went into Saint Ares' palace, especially in the Finance, Entertainment, Weaponry, and Pirate Sectors – People in the Finance and Entertainment Sectors were ridiculously wealthy and could get rid of the teens who didn't "fit in" with their societies – such as the poor – and the people in the Weaponry and Pirate Sectors nominated teens, as teens in those Sectors were used to fighting and weaponry, and that would mean that one of them had a fighting chance in assassinating Saint Ares and bringing an end to this mass kidnapping, torture, and murder of the country's teenagers.

It was the day where fifteen teenagers would be picked to go to Saint Ares' palace, and the mood was somber all across the Slag Heap. However, things would become tenser when the name of the teenager representing the Weaponry Sector was called.

"Arrowe Benton! Is Arrowe Benton here?!"

A hush fell over the Weaponry Sector. Arrowe Benton was absent and nowhere to be found in the Sector. Unlike most stories of totalitarian governments where a hero rises up to save the country, the story of the Slag Heap had no happy ending – As Arrowe Benton escaped, nobody was there to stop the poverty, hopelessness, and mass torture and murder in the Slag Heap.

* * *

**Brigadoon - **Yes, this is the West Blue equivalent to Lougetown.

**The Pratt Family - **Leanne's family is loosely based off of the movie _Seven Brides for Seven Brothers_, a musical/movie about seven, lumberjack brothers.

**Portland Island - **Portland Island is the equivalent to the city of Portland, Oregon.

**The Slag Heap - **Parts of the Slag Heap and the totalitarian government ruling it are based off of _The Hunger Games_, except that the teens who are picked at the Slag Heap's lottery don't kill each other until one remains - Instead, a World Noble tortures and kills them.

Just so you know, the situation going on in the Slag Heap isn't that important to the main story. It may show up again if we have a flashback to Arrowe's past, though.

**Arrowe Benton and Matilda Proteus - **I'm not saying they're going to join Eta and her crew, but...

**Anyway, review this chapter, since we have a rather suspenseful chapter next chapter!**


	6. Desdemona and the Strange Fruit

**Author's Note: **Would you look at that! Another chapter!

Anyway, here is where all of the action and suspense kicks in. Hope you're all ready for some fighting and some suspense.

**Disclaimer: I still don't own One Piece.**

* * *

By that Friday, Desdemona was ready to leave Comstock Island behind for Lougetown and her pen-pals.

"Well… I guess this is it," Jax commented as he and Desdemona stood in Desdemona's apartment, now bare-looking as Desdemona packed all of her belongings.

"You have my Vivre Card. This isn't really it," Desdemona argued. Jax just sighed.

"Anyway, I have a going-away present for you. Close your eyes," Jax said. Desdemona closed her eyes, preventing her from seeing whatever Jax was doing or getting. "Okay. Open them."

When Desdemona opened her eyes, a neon-green colored star fruit with swirls on it was in her hands.

"A Devil Fruit?!" Desdemona cried. "Jax, where the hell did you get this?! You know these things are very expensive!"

"Actually, this fell off of a ship. I am not making this up," Jax stated. "And, this isn't any Devil Fruit – It's the Kaku Kaku no mi, or the Nuclear Nuclear Fruit. It gives the user nuclear power, and it's been said that the powers of the Devil Fruit destroyed Hiro Island and Nag Island during a massive war hundreds of years ago. However, there is a catch – The user who eats this Devil Fruit dies within five to ten years of consumption due to the exposure of the radiation making up the Devil Fruit. I thought you'd might like it, being that you're the scientist and all."

Desdemona took a few minutes to study the Devil Fruit. Just having it in her hands alone was dangerous – Not from the nuclear radiation, as it was contained inside the fruit, but from the fact that she now possessed a very dangerous and rare Devil Fruit. Eating the Kaku Kaku no mi would significantly shorten her lifespan, and keeping it around like a decoration or a trophy would attract attention in the form of robbers and crooks.

"We have to sell it," Desdemona answered suddenly.

"Sell it?" Jax asked.

"I can't keep this Devil Fruit. I don't want to die from eating this fruit, and keeping it would only bring the wrong company around. This is really a dangerous Devil Fruit, consumed or otherwise," Desdemona explained. Jax simply walked over to the Den-Den Mushi book lying on the kitchen counter and began to flip through it.

"There's a small, Marine office in downtown where they claim dangerous items, such as your Devil Fruit, and they pay you cash. Look for a small shop with the Marine insignia in the window, and go into that building," Jax explained. "Also, if I were you, I would put that fruit in a bag and pass it off as your groceries. You never know what types of people hang around downtown Comstock City."

* * *

A few minutes later, Desdemona arrived at a small, Marine office crammed with tables, cabinets, and counters with various weapons, liquids in colorful bottles, foreign objects, and even a human skull or two.

"Hello?" Desdemona called out. "Hello? Is anybody here right now?"

"Can I help you?"

An elderly Marine slowly entered the room, using a wooden cane to help him walk. Desdemona walked over to the counter the Marine stood in front of and pulled the Kaku Kaku no mi out of the plastic shopping bag she was carrying.

"My friend gave me this Devil Fruit, the Kaku Kaku no mi, and it gives the user nuclear powers at the cost of their lifespan. I was told to turn it in here because it was so dangerous, whether I consumed it or not," Desdemona explained. As the elderly Marine examined the Devil Fruit – squinting every so often due to his old age – he realized something.

"Young lady, you have done the right thing. The Kaku Kaku no mi is a very dangerous fruit – Hundreds of years ago, two islands were destroyed by the powers of this Devil Fruit, and parts of those islands are still uninhabitable to this day," The Marine explained. "On behalf of the Marines, I will pay you 100 million Beri and take this Devil Fruit off of your hands. From there, the Marines will extract the power from this fruit, destroy the fruit itself, and bury the Devil Fruit's powers and the remains of the fruit on an isolated, hard-to-access island in the New World. Trust me, we will not be using this Devil Fruit for evil."

Desdemona smiled.

"It's yours for the taking," Desdemona said.

* * *

A minute later, Desdemona walked out of the office, check for 100 million Beri in her pocket.

"_Well, I got enough money for my voyage to Lougetown, and then some. I wonder what I'll buy with all of this leftover money_," Desdemona thought to herself. "_I could probably buy a brand-spanking-new lab set, a better protractor, maybe some chemicals for experiments… Hell, I could buy my own, small laboratory with the leftover money! This is a scientists' field day!_"

Too lost in her thoughts, Desdemona did not realize that a group of people were following her until a rag was placed over her mouth and nostrils. With one whiff of the chemical-soaked rag, Desdemona passed out before she could even recognize the chemical being used.

* * *

When Desdemona regained consciousness, she was lying on a concrete floor in a dimly-lit, grey-walled room.

"Desdemona Sheffield?"

Two adults then entered – A perky-looking, blonde-haired woman and a more serious-looking man with brown hair and a mustache; While the woman wore a gray pantsuit, a blue dress shirt, and black heels, the man wore a crimson-red sweater, black jeans, and light-brown work boots. Desdemona slowly got up from the ground.

"What do you want? Where am I?" Were the first words that came out of Desdemona's mouth.

"My name is Richard Sakamoto, and this is Lydia Kroll-Wyandotte. Currently, you are in protective custody," Richard – the serious man – explained. Desdemona then reached for a knife with a long, rusted blade that was resting on a nearby table. "Do not attempt to fight back. We are not going to hurt you, Ms. Sheffield."

Ignoring Richard, Desdemona clutched the rusty knife.

"Why do you have me?!" Desdemona cried.

"Our crew had a Devil Fruit in our possession, and it went missing earlier today. While Richard and I were on our way to meet our crew for dinner earlier this evening, we saw you enter the Marine Office for Dangerous, Unstable, and Toxic Objects with a bag," Lydia explained. "Do you know anything about the Kaku Kaku no mi?"

Desdemona bit her lip as she considered lying to Richard and Lydia. "Desdemona, you can talk. For the most part, Richard and I want no part in this, but our captain is forcing us to do this."

Desdemona sighed.

"My friend, Jax Dormer, gave me the Kaku Kaku no mi as a gift. However, he told me about how dangerous it was, so I made the decision to turn it in to the Marines. They gave me 100 million Beri as a reward for turning in a dangerous Devil Fruit," Desdemona explained. Lydia turned to Richard, and the two began to whisper back and forth to each other. From the hurried, hushed whispering, Desdemona guessed that this was a serious matter. After a moment of whispering back and forth to each other, Lydia and Richard turned back to Desdemona.

"Desdemona…" Richard said, letting out a heavy sigh. "You have to get out of here. Lydia and I are part of a dangerous, wealthy, and powerful crew who were planning to sell this Devil Fruit for a high price. If they found out about what happened to the Kaku Kaku no mi, they would kill you."

"Who are you working with?!" Desdemona asked bluntly.

"Why do you need to know?" Richard asked.

"I don't know who you are!" Desdemona answered. Richard sighed.

"Fine, we'll tell you," Richard answered. "Lydia and I are members of the Capricorn Pirates."

Desdemona broke out into a cold sweat. She wasn't surprised that the Capricorns would knock her out and drag her to some sort of dark, dank building, but Desdemona still had questions - What were they doing here? Why would the Capricorn Pirates return to the island where everything changed for the worse? Who were Lydia and Richard and what purpose did they serve?

"_What the hell, Des?! You're going to get all of us killed with those chemicals! Either you dispose of them, or I will!_"

"_You're out of the crew, Desdemona. It's clear that you're dead weight around here._"

"_You know what, Desdemona? You were better off not meeting us! Go fuck off!_"

Tightening her grip around the knife, Desdemona screamed.

"Don't scream. They'll hear – " Lydia said before Desdemona pushed her to the ground and ran out of the room.

"Get back here!" Richard yelled, his voice fading as Desdemona ran further and further down the hall. Even though Richard Sakamoto and Lydia Kroll-Wyandotte wanted nothing to do with the Capricorn Pirates and their dealings, escape was Desdemona's sole concern.

"_Where's Jax?! Does he know where I am?! Did he get captured?!_" Desdemona thought to herself. About another minute of running through dimly-lit hallways, Desdemona arrived at a large, dim lobby, only lit by the moonlight; a set of exit doors was on the other side of the lobby, signaling that this was the exit of the building. Picking up her pace, Desdemona ran toward the exit, only to trip and fall onto her side. "Fuck…"

Grabbing her knife, Desdemona slowly got up, only for pain to shoot through her right ankle. At the most, this was either a twisted or sprained ankle, but it would hinder Desdemona in her escape. As Desdemona started to half-limp, half-jog toward the doors, somebody put their hand on Desdemona's shoulder.

"Leaving so soon, Mona? You're going to miss all of the fun."

Desdeamona turned back, and she saw a group of about forty individuals, all wearing extravagant, formal dresses, suits, or even formal kimono or yukata. Desdemona brandished her knife.

"Try anything, and somebody WILL get hurt!" Desdemona yelled. Although she was putting up a brave front on the outside, Desdemona wished that somebody could come in and save her – Jax, Lydia, Richard… She even wished for Eta, Griffin, or Hettienne to come in and rescue Desdemona from the Capricorn Pirates.

"We weren't, Mona. We just wanted to have some fun with our old friend," What appeared to be the ringleader of the group explained. He was a handsome boy of about seventeen with thick, dark, spiky-ish hair, black eyes, and a slightly lanky figure. He wore a black dress shirt under a dark-gray blazer, black dress pants, and black shoes. In his hands, he held a scythe with a wooden handle and a perfectly curved blade. "Not enjoying yourself? Then your best friend, Heathcliffe Sarutobi, will help out. Why don't we start by asking you about the Kaku Kaku no mi?"

Desdemona responded by stabbing the rusty knife into Heathcliffe's shoulder. As Heathcliffe screamed in pain, Desdemona removed the knife and stabbed Heathcliffe in the side of his ribcage, making sure to miss his organs.

"Heathcliffe!"

"Sarutobi-kun!"

"Baby brother!"

Amid the shouts from the Capricorns and the pain in her ankle, Desdemona ran from the building, away from the Capricorns.

* * *

Several minutes of running later, Desdemona arrived at her apartment, out of breath and in pain. As she approached her apartment door, Desdemona found a letter taped to the door. Curious, Desdemona grabbed the letter and read it.

**Desdemona,**

**If you are reading this, I am not here. About a minute after you left the apartment, two people named Lydia Kroll-Wyandotte and Richard Sakamoto came to your apartment, on behalf of the Capricorn Pirates. They asked me several questions about me, you, and the Kaku Kaku no mi. I truthfully told them that you were turning the fruit in to the Marines out of safety concerns, and I had to tell them about your history with the Capricorn Pirates. After that, they left the apartment, and it appeared that they were going to follow you.**

**As for me, I am not on Comstock Island right now – I've had to flee the island for my own safety. I don't know what the Capricorns want to do with us, but they have most likely found out about the Kaku Kaku no mi. You are already in serious trouble with the Capricorns for turning in the Devil Fruit to the Marines.**

**I strongly suggest you leave the island as soon as you can – Tomorrow morning, at the latest. I don't care how you do it, but your main priorities right now are to escape the Capricorns and to get to your pen pals in Lougetown. Good luck, and stay safe.**

**- Jax**

As she entered her apartment, Desdemona balled the letter up. It was already a long night, and it would only get longer.

* * *

As she walked into Comstock Junction's harbor, possessions in tow, Desdemona thought about the Capricorns – How cold, callous, and ruthless they were. How they so wealthy and corrupt, that they actually bribed the Marines several times so they wouldn't end up on a Wanted list. And, how many times Desdemona got on their bad side, intentional or not.

"_Maybe the crew was right… I was better off not knowing them. I was better off not meeting Jax, I was better off not traveling with the Capricorns… I'm even better off not going on this voyage and meeting my pen pals_…" Desdemona thought to herself. A few seconds later, the sounds of somebody crying brought Desdemona out of her thoughts.

"Aki, calm down. We gave Heathcliffe antibiotics and bandaged his wounds up! Ageha even said that he's going to do fine!"

"But she hurt him! That bitch Desdemona hurt Heathcliffe! She almost killed him!"

"Aki, Heathcliffe's fine! Do you want to visit him? He wants to see you and give you a big hug!"

Taking a deep breath, Desdemona ran down the docks, away from the Capricorns. However, she didn't get far, as she bumped into somebody.

"Sorry," Desdemona said. The person Desdemona bumped into grabbed her hand.

"Come with me. It sounds like you're in danger."

Desdemona then felt herself being led up the gangplank to a pirate ship. The deck of the ship was large, with two masts on higher decks on either side of the ship. On the wall below each balcony was a door leading into the ship. Tiny, golden, Christmas lights were strung on the railings of the balcony, giving Desdemona a look at the person who rescued her – It was a tall, eighteen-year old boy with black hair and black eyes. He wore a black T-shirt for something called "The Novemberists", olive-green, skinny cargo pants, and brown boat shoes

"Where am I?" Desdemona asked as her rescuer lifted up the gangplank and placed it aside.

"Welcome to the Coachella!" Her rescuer responded.

"Who are you?" Desdemona asked in a deadpan tone of voice.

"Who am I? My name's Edmund," Edmund – Desdemona's rescuer – answered. "What's your name?"

"Desdemona Sheffield," Desdemona answered. An awkward silence fell between the two. "So… Are you with the Capricorn Pirates?"

"My parents are, but my brother, sisters, and I aren't. We don't really like the Capricorns," Edmund explained. "Were you trying to get away from them?"

Desdemona nodded.

"My friend gave me a Devil Fruit they had and I sold it. I'm pretty sure they want me dead now," Desdemona answered. Edmund chuckled.

"You know what? I like you. Do you want to come in and meet my friends?" Edmund asked.

"I don't see the harm in that," Desdemona answered. Edmund smiled as the two went inside, walking down a hallway.

"So, Desdemona, come to the docks often?" Edmund asked.

"I had to – I have to leave the island. I need to get to Lougetown to meet some pen-pals," Desdemona explained.

"Edmund, what's going on out there? Was somebody crying?!"

"I think so, Rhett!" Edmund yelled back. "That's Rhett, my younger brother. We're kind of like partners in crime."

"I see," Desdemona answered as they entered a large living room where several people were already gathered. The room fell silent right as Desdemona walked in. "Uhh… Hi."

"Hey, Edmund, was this the person who we heard crying their eyes out?"

* * *

**Hiro Island and Nag Island - **Reference to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two cities that got hit with nuclear bombs at the end of World War II.

**Kaku Kaku no mi (Nuclear Nuclear Fruit) - **It's a Paramecia fruit that gives the user nuclear radiation-based powers, but the user dies within ten years. This is a reference to exposure and eventual death from prolonged exposure to nuclear radiation.

**100 million Beri - **According to the article on Devil Fruits One Piece Wiki, "Because of their power, if sold they can expect to reach well over 100,000,000." Yes, Desdemona's payout of 100 million Beri seems logical, but keep in mind that the Kaku Kaku no mi is very dangerous, consumed or otherwise.

**Lydia Kroll-Wyandotte and Richard Sakamoto - **This may be hard to believe, but Lydia and Richard are based off of characters from the show Parks and Recreation - Lydia is based off of Leslie Knope, and Richard is based off of Ron Swanson. I can't tell you where I got this inspiration until later in the fic, since it does have major spoilers on characters I haven't introduced yet.

**Desdemona vs. The Capricorns - **Desdemona's fight against her ex-crew was kept short mainly for one reason - She was vastly outnumbered and had no access to any other weapons besides the knife. Add to that, her twisted ankle would have severely hindered her had she gotten into a bigger fight.

**Jax's Whereabouts - **I actually came up with the concept of Jax fleeing right when I finished typing up the scene with Desdemona against the Capricorns. There's only one thing I will say about Jax - He is alive right now, but his whereabouts are currently unknown.

**Bribing the Marines to avoid capture - **I would not be surprised if this happened in the One Piece world where wealthier pirate crews bribe Marine soldiers with money and other luxuries so they wouldn't end up being wanted by the Marines.

**The Novemberists - **Edmund's T-shirt is a shout-out to the band The Decemberists. A rather clever shout-out, I might add, as the theme song I gave Edmund is _One Engine _by The Decemberists.

**The Coachella - **The name of the ship Desdemona boards is a reference to a hipster music festival in the deserts of Southern California.

**Somebody crying their eyes out - **The person who was quote-unquote "crying their eyes out" was Aki, the girlfriend to Heathcliffe (who Desdemona stabbed earlier in the chapter). Basically, she's crying because she's concerned about her boyfriend and angry that her ex-crew member stabbed him.

**We're going to introduce a lot of important - but good - characters next chapter, so stay tuned!**


	7. Meet the Libras

**Author's Note: **Okay, everyone, here comes the fun part - Introducing a lot of characters! So many characters, that I got to the point where I got lazy with the descriptions and had to have a character introduce the remainder of the group to Desdemona!

On the bright side, these characters introduced in this chapter are pretty dang cool.

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**

* * *

Desdemona, Edmund, and the group of people grew silent. Unlike the Capricorns, who were stuck-up and condescending, this group seemed more casual and down-to-Earth. Just like how the Capricorns expressed their wealth and formality through their clothing, this group expressed themselves through their clothing as well, but through jeans, T-shirts, flannel shirts, sneakers, and other items of casual clothing.

"No… I wasn't crying my eyes out," Desdemona said slowly. While Desdemona fared well in social situations, she felt a bit awkward around this group, mainly because their intentions and alliances hadn't been declared to her yet. Better to be safe than sorry, as she used to tell herself.

"You're lying! People always say that they're fine when they've been crying!" A seventeen-year old boy with messy-looking black hair, black eyes, and dark circles around his eyes yelled. He wore a black T-shirt with the words "Guilty feet have got no rhythm" on it in white lettering, dark-blue skinny jeans, and white sneakers.

"Mason, she wasn't crying. It was somebody else," Edmund said to the dark-haired boy. Mason sighed, but Edmund continued to speak. "Everybody, this is Desdemona Sheffield! She's going to stay with us for a while!"

"I never said that!" Desdemona yelled. "Your brother cut me off before I could say anything!"

"Excuse you," Said a boy with purple hair and rectangular glasses. He wore a light-blue, collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, salmon-pink cargo shorts, brown boat shoes, and a straw gondolier hat. From the retort, Desdemona immediately knew that this was Rhett, Edmund's brother.

"You must be Rhett. Edmund's told me so much about you," Desdemona said to the purple-haired teenager sardonically. A few of the people in the room snickered.

"Indeed, dear brother, I have told Desdemona so much about you," Edmund said to Rhett.

"Really? Did you tell Desdemona about the twin sister I have?" Rhett asked, motioning to a girl with long, purple hair in a ponytail and rectangular glasses. She wore a light-blue, short-sleeved shirt dress, black leggings, and white, high-top shoes.

"I just mentioned in passing that I had a brother and two sisters," Edmund answered.

"What else did you tell Desdemona? The time Amelia went through a _Moonlight _saga phase? Your secret crush on Chun-Sai from Orphan Grey?" A girl with wavy, black hair asked. She wore a long-sleeved, yellow, sweater dress with a fox on it, black tights, and light-green combat boots.

"Bridey, I never went through a _Moonlight _saga phase!" Amelia – the purple-haired twin to Rhett – yelled.

"And I don't have a secret crush on Chun-Sai from Orphan Grey!" Edmund added. As Edmund and his siblings continued to argue, a tall, reddish-auburn-haired boy with blue eyes and oval-shaped glasses walked over to Desdemona. He wore a black-and-red, checkered, flannel shirt, blue jeans, and black work boots.

"Is this common on this ship?" Desdemona asked.

"Be glad you're not with Edmund's parents. Or even his Uncle Enoch," The boy responded. "I don't think I've introduced myself – I'm Miller. Miller Pratt."

"I'm Desdemona. Desdemona Sheffield," Desdemona introduced herself. The two grew silent as they continued to watch Edmund, Rhett, Amelia, and Bridey argue. "So… Who are Edmund's parents?"

"He didn't tell you yet?" Miller asked.

"Nope. That subject was never brought up," Desdemona answered.

"I'll fill you in on all of the details," Miller answered. "Edmund, Rhett, Amelia, and Bridey's father is Kartik Abingdon, the famous shipwright. He married Matsu Takeshima, a socialite from Baleeria Porto, which also happens to be the next city we're docking at. Edmund's uncle, Enoch, is Matsu's sister, and he was a pirate for a while before he returned home."

Desdemona stared at Miller in shock. Miller seemed like a good guy, but he didn't seem like the type to tell huge lies. For all Desdemona currently knew, Kartik and Matsu adopted Edmund, Rhett, Amelia, and Bridey.

"But… They're so young," Desdemona said after a moment of shocked silence. Miller ran a hand through his auburn hair.

"Long story short – We're actually twenty years from the future," Miller answered back. Desdemona just continued to stare at Miller in shock.

"Have you been lying to me over the past minute? Because you're saying a lot of ridiculous-sounding stuff," Desdemona asked. Miller sighed.

"No, I am not lying," Miller said. "We come from twenty years in the future, from the year 1589. A bunch of us are refugees from a huge war in the Goa Kingdom, and the woman that took us in, Teru, ate a Devil Fruit that allowed her to travel in time. However, the Devil Fruit's power malfunctioned, Teru bailed out on us, and we're stuck in the past until we can find Teru and have her get us back home. Does that answer your question?"

Desdemona's mouth opened slightly in awe. So far, this had been a crazy day, and being on a ship with a bunch of war refugees from the future just made it crazier.

"If you're from the future, can you tell me what it's like?" Desdemona asked.

"It's pretty much the same as this time period," Miller said with a shrug. "Sure, there's new fashion trends and that big war in the Goa Kingdom, but everything's relatively the same for the most part. Life is pretty good where I come from."

Desdemona smiled, wondering to herself what she would be like twenty years from that moment – She saw herself as a great scientist who was seen as a "Jack of All Trades". She saw herself solving complex math equations, studying plant and animal ecosystems, making synthetic materials in a laboratory, and even programming and assembling a computer or two. To Desdemona, the future was full of endless possibilities for everyone. Miller could even attest to it – If life was good twenty years from now, then who would argue with a boy who was originally from that era?

"Hey, guys, let's throw a party for Desdemona! This is the start of a beautiful friendship!" Mason yelled from across the room.

"No, Mason. We just threw a birthday party for me several days ago," A brown-haired boy pointed out. He wore a gray T-shirt with a sun on it under a black and grey, flannel T-shirt, dark-blue skinny jeans, and black, high-top shoes.

"That's Kazura. I think he may be the reason why we're all together on this boat like the movie _The Aquatic Life With Steven Zhou_," Miller said, pointing to the brown-haired boy.

"Did he want to re-enact that movie?" Desdemona asked.

"No. It was a combination of a resistance cell his parents started during the war in the Goa Kingdom and some daddy issues," Miller answered bluntly.

"Fine! Fernando can just make us something to eat!" Mason yelled as he pointed to a black-haired boy with a cowlick and rectangular-shaped glasses with black-colored frames. "Right, Fernando?!"

Fernando sighed.

"You had dinner an hour ago. You must be full," Fernando answered in a sarcastic tone of voice. "However, if it makes you happy, I am in the mood for pan ducle."

* * *

A minute later, after the Libras and Desdemona had settled down, Fernando managed to get them seated at the dining room table. A tray of colorful pan ducle sweet breads were placed on the table, but Fernando and Mason seemed to be the only ones eating.

"I think we need to start this over again," Edmund announced. "Hi, my name is Edmund Abingdon. I'm eighteen."

"I'm Rhett Abingdon, and this is Amelia Abingdon, my twin sister," Rhett introduced himself as he motioned to Amelia.

"I'm Bridey Abingdon, and I'm the youngest at sixteen," Bridey said.

"I'm Kazura Miyafuji, and I guess you could call me and my sister, Yukari, the ringleaders of this… Expedition, shall we say," Kazura introduced himself.

"I'm Yukari Miyafuji, and I'm Kazura's older sister!" A girl with pin-straight, blonde hair and blue eyes introduced herself. She wore a yellow T-shirt with a penny farthing bicycle on it, dark-blue, high-waisted, jean shorts, black leggings, sky-blue, high-top shoes, and a red scarf around her neck.

"You guys have quite the outfits going on," Desdemona commented, trying to hide the fact that she couldn't keep up with who was who and who was related to whom.

"It's normal for us," A girl with shoulder-length, spiky hair tied back with a red bandanna commented. She wore an olive-green shirt dress, fishnet stockings, and black combat boots. She was also drawing something in a large sketchbook. "By the way, my name's Stella-Rondo, and I am an artist."

"Okay, then…" Desdemona said, not choosing to comment any further on how the Libras dressed.

"Hi, I'm Mason Sarutobi. I'm a recovering drug addict, alcoholic, male prostitute, Impel Down prisoner –" Mason introduced himself before a black-haired boy with ends of his hair dyed red cut him off.

"Mason's lying. He's never done drugs, drank, whored himself out, or went to jail," The black-and-red haired boy explained. "I'm Aleksandar, Mason's brother."

Inwardly, Desdemona shuddered. Aleksandar and Mason were related to Heathcliffe in some way, but how? She knew that the Sarutobi family was very large, mistresses not included. Were all of the Sarutobis this crazy, or was it just her?

"Have you met our cousins yet?" Mason asked.

"Cousins?" Desdemona asked. Mason motioned to a blonde man of about twenty and a blonde girl of about eighteen who were sitting next to him.

"Locke and Aurelia Sarutobi," Mason said before he motioned to a girl with black hair in a pixie cut and a brown-haired boy with slightly tanned skin. "And Pearl Chung-Feng and Lien Sarutobi. Pearl is Lien's older sister, but she was given her mom's last name at birth for some reason."

"I'm Fernando Aguilar, and I'm the chef of the crew," Fernando introduced himself.

"I'm Miller Pratt, and I'm a lumberjack… Well, I mean I used to be a lumberjack, but the Goa Kingdom War forced me to take a break from my job," Miller introduced himself.

"Why do I seem so overwhelmed meeting all of these people?" Desdemona asked the blue-haired boy sitting next to her.

"Because the tragic thing is that almost all of the crew had to evacuate from a war," The boy, who had a British accent, explained. "I'm Kipton Lim. This is Nigel Crawley – who is also my boyfriend -, Marelene Grey, Daruma Hideyoshi, Opal Rinaldi, Alton Cheung, Alto Jarvis, Jin-Mao Xiang, and Daiyu Lung."

Kipton motioned to an orange-haired man, a blue-skinned Fishwoman with pointy-looking fins on her cheeks, a large, muscular man with no shirt, a girl with dark-brown hair in a ponytail, an older-looking man with glasses and a sweater vest, a blue-haired man, a black-haired teenager in a tan jacket with a white shield emblem on the back, and a girl with short, black hair.

"Welcome to the Libra Pirates. The world's only group of war evacuees who ended up twenty years in the past," Nigel – who also had a British accent - said to Desdemona.

"We could also be considered the only pirates who want nothing to do with piracy – All we want is for this fucking war to be over so we can go home," Mason explained.

"And we want tickets to see our favorite bands in concert," Lien added.

"Unfortunately, that won't happen in this era, since some of your favorite musicians probably haven't been born yet. Or conceived," Desdemona argued. The Libras erupted into loud laughter.

"Nice one, Desdemona!" Edmund yelled in-between laughs. "You know what? We like you. You're sarcastic, funny, and you know what's up. There need to be more people like you on this Earth."

Desdemona smiled. Here she was on a crew that, despite their circumstances, were carefree and down to Earth. Unlike the Capricorns, the Libras' circumstances didn't make them into bitter, greedy, and arrogant – Between the war they had to evacuate from and getting sent back in time, Desdemona could tell that these experiences caused the Libras to grow close to each other.

"Thank you." Was all Desdemona answered with.

"Hey, guys, let's break out the Humanity vs. Cards set! I don't think Desdemona's played it before!" Rhett suggested.

* * *

On a cruise ship headed from Mountain High to Lougetown, Hettienne and Matilda sat in the lounge, watching the evening news. They were the only ones in the lounge who had their eyes on the television, as the few, other people who were in the lounge were either playing pool, ping-pong, or other games or were drinking at the bar in the back of the room.

"_Shenhua 'The Dragon Lady' Jiang, Remy 'Spider Webb' Webb, and Seven 'Lucky Seven' Weintraub are the three Shichibukai who will make honorary appearances at the upcoming World's Fair of Lougetown. Not only will the three be expected to appear at the various events at the fair, but they are expected to comment on the new system of the Shichibukai and which pirate crew they will take under their wing._"

"Even I find several things wrong with that," Matilda observed.

"How?" Hettienne asked in a low voice.

"My parents are Revolutionaries, so they taught me how fucked-up the Shichibukai system is at an early age," Matilda answered.

"Where are your parents?" Hettienne asked.

"They went to the New World for a very dangerous mission and I had to stay behind. Maybe if we make it to the New World, we could find them," Matilda suggested. Hettienne sighed as she adjusted the brim of her hat.

"We could. But, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Hettienne answered. "Right now, we have to find Eta, Desdemona, and Griffin."

* * *

**"Guilty feet have got no rhythm" - **This a reference to the band Arctic Monkeys. The drummer of the band, Matt Helders, always duct-tapes something to his drums, and this phrase was written in duct-tape on his drums. Look it up on Google Images.

_**Moonlight **_**saga - **A very obvious jab directed toward the Twilight saga.

**Orphan Grey - **A reference to the show Orphan Black. The character Chun-Sai is a reference to the Orphan Black character Cosima.

_**The Aquatic Life With Steve Zhou** _- Shout-out to the Wes Anderson film _The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou_.

**Pan Dulce - **It's a type of sweet bread from Mexico.

**Humanity vs. Cards - **Knockoff of the game Cards Against Humanity.

**Keep up with the reviews, guys!**


	8. Daily Lives of the Libra Pirates

**Author's Note: **Posting another chapter tonight, since I wrote out half of the chapter two weeks ago to help establish the events that went on in the last two-three chapters.

**Disclaimer: I still don't own One Piece.**

* * *

Desdemona found herself running – Running down the same hallway she ran down the previous night after her confrontation with Lydia and Richard. She didn't know why she was running, but she knew that danger was coming.

"The Kaku Kaku no mi… We'll kill you, Desdemona. Kill you like those Trafalgar boys. Everything in the House of Capricorn is in the name of money…"

With a scream that sounded more like a gasp, Desdemona picked up the pace. Eventually, she hit a dead end; staring at the concrete walls, Desdemona tried to slow her breathing down and conserve energy. However, Desdemona's breathing became more labored when something stabbed her in the side.

"Round two, Mona. We're after you now."

Desdemona looked down, and she saw a knife with a long, rusted, and bloodied blade on the ground. Quickly losing blood, Desdemona kneeled onto the ground, clutching her side. Somebody knelt next to her a few seconds later and whispered something into Desdemona's ear.

"The spoils will go to the Capricorns. We are the ones who will have it all."

* * *

The next thing Desdemona knew was that she woke up on a bed inside of a plainly-decorated bedroom, with no pain. Desdemona looked outside the window, where the sky was the blue-ish gray hue, indicating that the sunrise would be in about a half-hour.

Rolling over, Desdemona looked at the alarm clock on her bedside, which read 6:00 a.m.

"_Guess I'm not going back to sleep. Might as well take a shower before everyone else does…_" Desdemona thought to herself, kicking the bed sheets off of her.

* * *

After showering and putting on her clothes for the day (a light-grey T-shirt with a middle-aged man with a hat and sunglasses that said "Pascal" underneath the man, blue jeans, and red sneakers), Desdemona wandered the halls of the Coachella. Some of the doors were open, allowing Desdemona a peek or two into the bedrooms or other rooms.

Further down the hall, Desdemona could see light flooding out of one of the rooms. Curious, Desdemona entered the room, which turned out to be a library or some sort of study – Tall bookshelves lined the walls, save for a wall to the right of Desdemona that had some sort of fireplace. Tables and chairs were scattered about, and there were window seats right in front of the two, giant windows on the other side of the room.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Edmund walked up to Desdemona, a large book under his arms.

"Nightmare about last night," Desdemona answered. "I figured that because I woke up now, I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep."

Edmund smiled.

"You can stay here, if you like," Edmund offered. "Besides, there's not much to do around here – Everyone else is asleep, except maybe Fernando because he has to cook breakfast."

"And I don't really want to go back to bed," Desdemona said as she walked over to a bookshelf. After a couple of minutes spent looking, Desdemona pulled out a large, slightly heavy book titled _The Complete and Unabridged History of the Straw Hat Pirates_.

"Going for the Straw Hat biography, eh?" Edmund asked as Desdemona sat down in the chair next to his.

"What did you go for?" Desdemona asked.

"A collection of stories about the city of Water Seven. My father is originally from Water Seven, so my family and I go there every winter," Edmund answered. "We'd go to Water Seven for the summer like most families, but then we'd have to deal with the Aqua Laguna. Instead, we play it safe and go to Baleeria Porto."

* * *

Two hours later…

"Breakfast is ready!"

Desdemona looked up from her book. She was still on the part that detailed Monkey D. Luffy's early life, and things were about to get good in the book.

"Breakfast already?" Desdemona asked.

"Yep. Time for breakfast," Edmund said wistfully as he closed his book.

* * *

Desdemona's eyes widened at the spread of food that lay before her. She had never seen this much food in front of her before, not even at a hotel's breakfast buffet or on board the Capricorn's ship, where everything last detail was planned, right down to when everyone came in for breakfast.

Sitting down next to Edmund, Desdemona could not take her eyes off of the smorgasbord in front of her – Milk and an assortment of juices stood at the center of the table in ice-cold pitchers, with pots of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate surrounding the pitchers of milk and juice. As for the food itself, several trays of breakfast food were arranged, including pancakes, waffles, assorted cereals, oatmeal, and granola, French toast, slices of various fruits, bacon, all kinds of eggs (scrambled, fried, etc.), sausage, ham, muffins, toasts, bagels, donuts, various pastries with colorful frostings, and jars and bottles of jam, Nutella, marmalade, and maple syrup.

"Can't decide what to eat, or are you taking it all in?" Edmund asked.

"Both. I'm not used to large breakfast spreads like these," Desdemona answered.

"It's normal for us – We're used to large breakfasts," Edmund explained. "What do you usually have for breakfast?"

"When I was still attending school, it was either an energy bar or toast. When I had extra time, I'd make myself some bacon and eggs with coffee or I'd go down to the diner," Desdemona answered. "When I was a pirate, everything was different. We didn't really have a choice on what we were going to eat for breakfast. You either ate what Sebastian – the chef of the Capricorns - made that morning or you starved."

"That Sebastian guy sounds like a total snob," Edmund commented, pouring himself some coffee.

"And clumsy, I might add," Desdemona added, pouring coffee into her own mug. She then reached over and grabbed one of the pastries – A twisted, flaky pastry with grains of sugar coating it.

"Elephant ear," Edmund said.

"Yeah, I know what it is," Desdemona answered in a deadpan tone of voice. Edmund snickered at her witty comeback.

"I know what an elephant ear is too, Mona. We've all been to a fair," Edmund answered, pouring a light-brown drink into a small, glass tumbler next to his coffee mug.

"What's that?" Desdemona asked, pointing to the drink in Edmund's glass.

"It's horchata. It's a rice and barely drink with cinnamon. Try some," Edmund said, handing the glass to Desdemona. "It's non-alcoholic, trust me."

Shooting another skeptical look toward Edmund, Desdemona took a small sip of the drink. To Desdemona, horchata tasted like sweet cinnamon milk; it reminded her of vague memories of her mother making hot milk or chocolate milk for her when she was little, before her mother died, before her father became a Shichibukai, and before Desdemona was dragged into this adventure.

"Not bad." Was all Desdemona said to Edmund, passing his glass of horchata back to him.

"To some, it's an acquired taste," Edmund commented. As Desdemona piled more food into her plate, the rest of the Libras came straggling in. Some still had wet hair from the shower and a couple of them came in their pajamas, but the majority of the Libras were already dressed and ready for the day.

"Good morning, Desdemona. How are you today?" Miller asked, grabbing a seat across from Desdemona.

"I'm fine, thank you," Desdemona said.

"Glad to hear that," Miller answered back. With Miller's word, it seemed as though breakfast had truly begun – With everybody taking food and chatting all at the same time, breakfast with the Libra Pirates truly felt like friendship to Desdemona. Unlike with the Capricorns, where there usually was either silence or a single, ongoing discussion, several discussions were currently going on, most of them about trivial things like music and weather, not complex politics. Plus, there seemed like enough food to go around and then some.

Eventually, the food on Desdemona's plate was reduced to nothing but crumbs and the odd pool of jam or syrup. Although she wasn't full and wanted seconds, Desdemona thought of the many times she had breakfast with the Capricorns and was denied seconds.

"_May I have some seconds please?_"

A slap on her hand, light or harsh, and Desdemona would immediately know that she was denied seconds for varying reasons.

"_No, you may not, Desdemona. We need you to fit into your new dress for the raid on Comstock Island_."

"_I'm sorry, Mona, but you can't have any seconds. There's not enough food left._"

"_No, Desdemona! You had a lot of food at that dinner party we crashed last night! We don't want you getting sick._"

Choosing to ignore the flashbacks to her stint with the Capricorns, Desdemona simply grabbed more food for herself. Besides, 99% of the time the Capricorns denied her seconds was so she could "fit into dresses" or some other B.S. excuse involving appearances. However, since the Capricorns didn't seem to be nearby, Desdemona finally felt like she could eat to her heart's content.

"Enjoying the meal, Desdemona?" Was the only comment said about Desdemona getting seconds, and it came from Edmund.

"Of course! There's so much good food to go around!" Desdemona said in-between bites of a sugary-sweet, glazed donut. "Plus, the Capricorns always denied me seconds during meal times, all because they wanted me to quote-unquote 'stay beautiful like the rest of us'."

The rest of the Libras stopped eating and looked to Desdemona.

"Wow… That's rather harsh," Kazura commented.

"And judgmental," Miller added before he turned to Desdemona. "But, don't worry, Desdemona. Eat as much as you want here. Being quote-unquote 'beautiful like the rest of us' isn't our concern. Our concern is living life itself. Who needs the 'beautiful people' when you have beautiful, overlooked scenery waiting for you outside?"

"Speaking from personal experience, I am not a fan of the Capricorns. They are arrogant, corrupt, and depraved. They could probably give half of the Shichibukai a run for their money," Kazura explained.

"Although I love my mother and father, some of the Capricorns are seriously not right in the head. There's this one woman on the crew, Karin, and she's a skank. She's only on the crew because she's in love with my dad," Edmund explained.

"Oh, yeah, her. She almost maimed me once because I didn't want to go shopping with her," Desdemona said sarcastically. A few of the Libras laughed in response. However, Stella-Rondo quickly grew silent.

"You know, it's actually kind of sad…" Stella-Rondo remarked. "When the war began, the Capricorns formed a resistance cell to protect the island, and they promised to protect my family. A few nights after the war was announced, one of the Dragon Lady's crews came to the Goa Kingdom and firebombed Goa City. I lived at some sort of apartment complex for artists, and my home was one of the first places to get hit by the firebombs. I got out, but… My parents died in the fire. Where were the Capricorns while my home was burning down? At a cocktail party, dressed in their finery drinking fancy wine. Had they not had their cocktail party, my mother and father would still be alive!"

The Libras grew silent, not knowing what to say.

"Don't worry, Stella-Rondo – Twenty years from now, when the war comes, I will get your parents to safety before the firebombs are dropped on the Goa Kingdom. I will do this not out of spite toward the Capricorns, but as a thank-you for helping me out," Desdemona vowed. Some of the Libras cheered.

"You show those arrogant jerks, Des! We probably won't need the Capricorns and their resistance cell to help us!" Jin-Mao yelled.

* * *

Later that night, the Libras and Desdemona sat around the Coachella, relaxing and hanging out. The next day, they would dock at Baleeria Porto, and the Libras were preparing however they could.

"Desdemona, can I speak to you for a second?" Alton asked, entering the room. Desdemona looked up from her book.

"Sure," Desdemona said, using the book jacket to mark her place in the book.

"What part are you on?" Edmund asked as Desdemona left the room.

"After Luffy defeats Arlong but before they get to Lougetown!" Desdemona yelled as she followed Alton into the hallway. In his hands, Alton held a small, neon green-colored Geiger counter.

"I fixed your Geiger counter up a bit. You'll be surprised to know that I've upgraded it," Alton explained, twisting off the tubes of the Geiger counter. The tubes fell off, revealing twin blades. "I have installed a set of twin blades inside the tubes of the Geiger counter. All you have to do it twist the tubes off, and the blades will come out. They're heat and chemical-resistant, so you wouldn't have to worry."

"Thank you, Alton!" Desdemona said as she put the tubes back onto the Geiger counter. Just as Desdemona secured the second tube in place, loud shouting came from the deck.

"Guys, help! We fished up two people!"

Desdemona and Alton ran outside and onto the deck, where several of the Libras were surrounding two people that were passed out – A girl of about nineteen and a man of about twenty-six. The girl had dark-red hair tied into a high ponytail and wore a black bandeau top and olive-green harem pants, and the guy had ruffled-looking, light-brown hair and wore a light-pink, collared shirt, black jeans, and black sneakers.

"Where did they come from? We're far from any island, and there haven't been any storms around here," Yukari asked everyone.

"Maybe they went adrift," Kazura suggested.

"But, if they did go adrift, how long have they been treading water?" Desdemona asked. Right as Desdemona finished speaking, the male opened his eyes.

"Lydia… Richard… Marcello… April… Thom… Christo… Andrew… Did I save them, Andromache?" The man weakly asked before he passed out again. Alto looked to the rest of the Libras.

"Everyone, get these two to the sick bay!" Alto yelled. As the Libras busied themselves with getting the two, passed out castaways into the sick bay, Desdemona only had one thought on her mind – How did this man know who Lydia and Richard were?

* * *

**"Those Trafalgar boys" - ***Gasp* Trafalgar Law has offspring?! You'll have to wait and see about this one, guys.

**House of Capricorn - **This comes from the Capricorns' theme song, _House of Capricorn _by The Company Band. Go look it up on Youtube, as the song fits perfectly with the Capricorns.

**Desdemona's Pascal T-shirt - **Supposed to be a shout-out to the Heisenberg T-shirts for Breaking Bad.

_**The Complete and Unabridged History of the Straw Hat Pirates** _- If you think about it, this book is basically the plot of the One Piece manga, with much more on the Straw Hats' backstories, what they did during the timeskip, and their post-voyage lives.

**Aqua Laguna - **To remind you, the Aqua Laguna is the big hurricane that hits Water Seven every year. Will I have the Aqua Laguna featured in the story? Maybe. I'll know when I'll get closer to Water Seven (which will be in a very long time).

**Also, if it feels like Desdemona and the Libras stole the show - They did for now, because a lot of things happened on Desdemona's end. I promise that the next chapter will have the Calamity Griffin Team (and maybe Leanne's family) make an appearance.**


	9. Eagle Island Pirates Forever

**Author's Note: **Told you guys Griffin was in this chapter.

**Disclaimer: Nope. I still don't own One Piece.**

* * *

Inside the sick bay, the man and the girl slowly awoke. Cringing at the florescent lights overhead, the man got up and turned toward the girl.

"Andromache, what happened?" The man asked. Andromache sighed as she took her hair out of her ponytail and put it back up.

"We ran into one of the Shichibukai… She had the Nikyu Nikyu no mi, and she sent us away. Fortunately, I got sent away with you, but everyone else… We couldn't get to them in time, Ben," Andromache explained softly. Ben's lip quivered – He didn't know where the rest of his crew went, especially his wife and his captain. For all Ben knew, the Shichibukai known as "Spider Webb" sent the rest of his crew to Impel Down or Enies Lobby Annex.

"What about Lydia?! Where's Lydia?!" Ben screamed.

"She got sent away with Richard and April. I don't know where they went," Andromache answered. Tears began to fall from Ben's eyes, but he wiped them away when Alto, Desdemona, and Edmund entered the room.

"I see you're awake and doing well," Alto commented. Andromache and Ben grew silent as they slowly turned to the two Libras and one guest.

"Where are we?" Ben asked slowly, confused at the sudden developments.

"You are on board the Coachella, the ship of the Libra Pirates," Alto explained. "My name is Alto Jarvis, and I am a doctor. With me are Edmund Abingdon and Desdemona Sheffield."

"My name is Andromache Perkins. I'm also a doctor," Andromache introduced herself.

"I'm Benjamin Wyandotte. Call me 'Ben', if you want," Ben introduced himself. Alto grabbed a chair and sat in front of Andromache and Ben's beds.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Alto asked. "How did you end up in the ocean?"

"We're both from a different pirate crew, the Eagle Island Pirates. Ben's wife, Lydia, is the captain of the crew, and she formed the crew out of a deep love for her home island. We were on our way to the World's Fair of Lougetown, when we ran into the Shichibukai Remy Webb. We kind of provoked her… But she had the Nikyu Nikyu no mi, so she split the entire crew up. We don't know where they are at this moment," Andromache explained.

"The Nikyu Nikyu no mi? Didn't Bartholomew Kuma of the Shichibukai have that fruit when he was still alive?" Edmund asked Alto. Unlike Edmund, Desdemona was more concerned about something else regarding Ben, Andromache, and their crew.

"Can you tell me more about your crew? Your captain's name sounds familiar," Desdemona asked.

"Sure," Ben answered. "Lydia Kroll-Wyandotte is my captain and amazing wife. She is so optimistic and… Strong. Richard Sakamoto is my shipwright, and he's VERY manly. April Vu is our sarcastic merchant who handles the crew's money. Thom Harken is our chef, and an extreme ladies man. Andrew D'Arc is our musician and he's trying to start a band. Marcello Fellini is our navigator, and Cristo Takizawa is our swordsman and a complete health freak."

Something then clicked inside of Desdemona's head – Ben was married to one of the people who interrogated her while in the Capricorn's custody? For starters, the fact that Lydia was MARRIED was surprising enough.

"I'll be right back!" Desdemona yelled before she ran down the hall to the living room, where Jin-Mao, Fernando, Miller, Mason, and Kazura were huddled around Kazura's laptop computer and watching something. "What's going on?"

"Oh, we discovered this new show called The Calamity Griffin Show, and it's super hilarious," Jin-Mao answered, not taking his eyes off of the computer screen.

"_Well, Marcello, care to say anything about this odd predicament we've encountered? Griffin ran off and we're on a boat._"

"_Calamity, I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to this situation._"

Jin-Mao, Mason, and Fernando laughed loudly, but Kazura and Miller facepalmed at this bad joke.

"That was terrible," Kazura commented.

"_Wait… Griffin? As in Griffin Gethard?_" Desdemona thought to herself as she dialed a number on the DenDen Mushi. Before Desdemona could dwell on this new development, a familiar voice spoke through the DenDen Mushi.

"_The Hyperion, the ship of the Capricorn Pirates. This is Lydia. How can I help you?_"

"Lydia, hi. It's me, Desdemona," Desdemona nervously said into the receiver, afraid that the Capricorns would pick up.

"_Hi, Desdemona. What's up?_"

"Do you know who Ben Wyandotte and Andromache Perkins are?" Desdemona asked. On the other line, Lydia grew silent.

"_You found Ben and Andromache?! Desdemona, that's wonderful! What happened?_"

"After the incident with the Kaku Kaku no mi, I got a ride with some war refugees. We fished up Andromache and Ben earlier tonight," Desdemona answered. "Do you want to see them?"

"_We can't. We're in Baleeria Porto right now, and the Capricorns are trying to get to Lougetown for the big fair going on there. Apparently, Yuki-Rin got an important summons to attend._"

"Knowing that three Shichibukai are going to be there, you should probably be nervous," Desdemona answered. "Listen, I may not like the Capricorns after what they've done to me, but can we meet up with you in Lougetown so I can return Andromache and Ben to you?"

"_Sounds like a plan. When do you think you'll be there?_"

Desdemona paused, trying to calculate when the Libras would get into Lougetown.

"We'll try and be there before the World's Fair of Lougetown ends. If we're not there by the time the fair ends, wait five days for us," Desdemona answered firmly.

* * *

**Brigadoon, West Blue**

Griffin shifted around in his seat, trying to grab some food to put on his plate. Here he was now in Brigadoon, staying over with Leanne's seven brothers – Halle, Sparrow, Orris, Gale, Jonas, Gaerik, and Lundy, all of whom had varying shades of auburn or brown hair. True to their lumberjack roots, they also lived in a small, log cabin.

"What the hell did I get myself into?" Griffin said to himself as he spooned some mashed potatoes onto his plate.

"You chose to stay here until you could get a boat to Lougetown. At least be grateful that you have a roof over your head and food to eat right now," Gaerik – the Pratt brother sitting to the right of Griffin – explained. The DenDen Mushi in the hallway then rang. "I'll get it."

Gaerik then got up and left the table, leaving his brothers and Griffin in silence.

"So… What's that show you do with my sister?" Orris asked.

"The Calamity Griffin Show. It's a comedy show airing on New Bristol City public access," Griffin answered. "I've got recordings of the show if you want to watch it after dinner."

The six Pratt brothers looked up from their meals and towards Griffin. Griffin didn't know if he said something wrong, but he assumed it may or may not have something to do with Leanne, their only sister.

"We don't have a television," Sparrow – the youngest of the Pratt siblings at age fourteen – answered.

"Don't have a television?!" Griffin cried.

"We don't need one," Sparrow answered. "We have the woods and each other."

Gaerik hurried into the room before Griffin could protest.

"That was Leanne," Gaerik announced to his brothers and Griffin. "She told me that as the second-oldest brother in the family, I will accompany Griffin to Lougetown."

Gaerik's brothers grew silent.

"What about Halle? He's the oldest," Lundy pointed out.

"He's also the only one who's married," Gaerik argued.

"Speaking of married, Millie – my wife - is going to move in with us tomorrow. Be sure to wear something nice," Halle announced. Griffin then set his fork and knife down.

"May I be excused?" Griffin asked.

"Go ahead," Halle answered. Griffin then walked outside of the cabin and into the surrounding woods. When he was far enough from the cabin, Griffin screamed.

"Why, Leanne?! Why?!" Griffin shouted, cursing Leanne for introducing a flaw to his plan to get to Lougetown – Gaerik Pratt.

* * *

**Nikyu Nikyu no mi - **Yep, Remy has the same Devil Fruit Kuma had, and she even sent the Eagle Islanders away like how Kuma sent away the Straw Hats.

**Enies Lobby Annex - **Basically, Enies Lobby got rebuilt after the Straw Hats raided it, and Enies Lobby Annex is the result of it. It most likely won't serve as a major plot point later on.

**Eagle Island Pirates - **Now that we've learned the names of the Eagle Islanders, here are all of the Parks and Recreation characters they are based off of: Lydia is Leslie Knope, Richard is Ron Swanson, Marcello is Mark Brendanowicz, Andromache is Ann Perkins, April Vu is April Ludgate, Andrew D'Arc is Andy Dwyer, Thom Harken is Tom Haverford, Ben Wyandotte is Ben Wyatt, and Cristo Takizawa is Chris Traegar.

**Laptops - **Computers have been used in One Piece canon, so that means that laptops are most likely used in the One Piece world as well.

**The Pratt siblings - **Here's the order of the Pratt siblings, from oldest to youngest - Leanne (23), Halle (21), Gaerik (19), Gale (19; Gaerik's twin), Jonas (18), Lundy (18), Orris (17), and Sparrow (14).

**Short chapter this time around, but next chapter will have a lot of stuff, including a break-in and meeting somebody related to one of the Capricorns.**


	10. Breaking and Entering

**Author's Note: **New chapter that's laying the groundwork for some epic fights in the next chapter, the return of Eta and Arrowe, and some new characters!

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. If I did, Ace would obviously live, duh.**

* * *

Like the previous morning, the Libras gathered for breakfast the next morning, with Andromache and Ben now joining them. The mood was more upbeat than the previous day, as the Libras would be docking at Baleeria Porto later that morning.

"So, we'll be arriving in Baleeria Porto later on. Is there anything we need to know before we dock?" Kazura asked everyone.

"Ben and Andromache told me about their crew last night, and I remembered that two of their crew members are working with the Capricorns right now. I called them, and – thankfully – Ben and Andromache's captain, Lydia, answered. The Capricorns were in Baleeria Porto as of last night, but I'm not sure if they'll still be here," Desdemona explained to the crew. Ben dropped his cup of coffee in surprise, burning his hand and thigh and staining his jeans with coffee.

"You know where Lydia is?!" Ben cried in shock.

"Yes, and I don't think she wants anything to do with the Capricorns," Desdemona explained. "Richard is also with her. It's clear that they can't get along with the Capricorns."

"Why can't we just recruit them to stay with us until they find the rest of the crew? It would make a lot of sense," Jin-Mao asked everyone.

"You see, Jin-Mao, it's a lot more complicated than that – Have you ever had a pen-pal?" Ben asked. Although Jin-Mao remained silent, Desdemona nodded to herself, not forgetting the real reason why she was with these people. "Well, trying to visit a pen-pal is much more difficult than trying to visit a friend - Your pen-pal could live several hundred miles away from you. This separation from my crew has gotten to the point where it feels like they're just pen-pals to me – I know them, but it feels like I never met them in person."

In her head, Desdemona thought about what Ben said. She did know Eta, Hettienne, and Griffin, but how well did she really know them? Did she know about how Hettienne was posing as a boy? Did she know that Griffin had a show with some friends and he was trying to make it in show business? Years of missing correspondence between the four left out a lot of information.

* * *

A few short hours later, the Libras arrived in Baleeria Porto, a large, sprawling city built around the East Blue Shipwright Company and the sea. Here in Baleeria Porto, the weather was constantly sunny and warm, save for the morning fog or an errant storm during the winter months. To many, Baleeria Porto was a picture of paradise in the East Blue.

"Alright, are you ready to go?" Edmund asked Desdemona, Rhett, Amelia, Bridey, Miller, Jin-Mao, Aurelia, Ben, and Andromache as they prepared to leave the ship to go shopping.

"Ready!" Desdemona answered. "Where are we going?"

"We need to make a quick detour first, if you don't mind," Edmund answered. "You might need something to defend yourselves with or even an alibi for where we're going."

* * *

A few minutes of trying to navigate the city later, the group arrived at a large, pink-and-white colored apartment building.

"Apartments?" The majority of the group – save for Edmund and his siblings – asked.

"This was dad's apartment when he lived here," Edmund explained as he walked up to the intercom and pressed a number. "Hello? I'm looking for the apartment for Kartik Abingdon. I'm an admirer of his and I need to discuss something with him regarding Galley-La."

"_Kartik Abingdon is in apartment #3110 on floor number three. I'll let him know that he's got visitors_."

"Thank you, ma'am," Edmund said into the intercom before he turned back to the group.

"…Did you just lie to get into an apartment complex?" Ben asked. Edmund nodded, making a "keep your lips zipped shut" motion with his hand. "Edmund, that's breaking and entering! You're going to get us all arrested!"

"It's not breaking and entering if you are a relative," Edmund argued.

* * *

As Desdemona, Edmund, Rhett, Amelia, Bridey, Aurelia, Jin-Mao, Miller, Andromache, and Ben stood in the elevator, they simultaneously wondered why Edmund was breaking into the apartment of the past version of his father.

"So, tell me again why we're doing this," Ben requested.

"We're just visiting. No harm in that," Edmund answered. Ben facepalmed in response.

"If we all get sent to jail for breaking and entering, I am pinning this on you," Ben said to Edmund as the elevator came to a stop on the third floor. Edmund said nothing as the group of ten got out and began walking down the ornate hallways, their footsteps echoing off of the marble floors.

"Who died and made you captain?" Edmund asked as they approached a door with the placard "3110" nailed on. Edmund then reached into the pocket of his cardigan, pulling a silver key out a few seconds later.

"Ben's right – You're going to send all of us to jail," Miller said as Edmund put the key in the lock. Despite having a key from twenty years into the future, Edmund's key fit into the lock.

"At least they didn't change the locks on dad's apartment between now and twenty years later," Edmund argued, opening the door. As everybody entered the apartment, they were struck with how empty it was – Plain, white walls and wooden floors. The apartment was stripped of all furnishings, minus a black, leather couch and a silver floor lamp next to the couch.

"Either dad was redecorating, or he had to pack up suddenly and leave," Amelia theorized. Edmund walked over to the center of the living room.

"The latter theory makes more sense, Ami. Although dad was a moral person, it's not like him to strip an entire apartment of its furnishings to redecorate. I mean, he _**is**_ a shipwright, so he should usually leave a few pieces of furniture in order to get ideas of how to redecorate," Edmund ranted. Everyone else facepalmed – Here they were breaking into an apartment, and now Edmund is going on a tangent about interior design.

"I think we should leave. If the living room is empty, then the rest of the rooms won't have anything," Rhett suggested.

"Hey! Who the hell are you punks?!"

The group turned back, and they saw a young man who strongly resembled Edmund – Dark hair, black eyes, and a tall figure. He wore a crisp, white, collared shirt under a black pea coat, black jeans, and black dress shoes.

"Stay back! We're armed!" Jin-Mao yelled as the group pulled out various weapons – Desdemona had her retrofitted Geiger counter, Edmund had a pirate cutlass with a golden blade and a curved handle, Rhett had several throwing axes, Jin-Mao had a dagger, Miller had a hatchet, Aurelia had a large battle axe, Andromache had two dao swords, and Ben had a hand scythe. However, Edmund and Rhett dropped their weapons when they saw who they were confronting.

"Uncle Enoch?!" Edmund, Rhett, Amelia, and Bridey yelled.

"You know him?" Desdemona asked.

"I know them?" Enoch asked Desdemona. Miller sighed as he massaged his temples.

"It's a long story," Miller said to Enoch.

* * *

After several minutes of explanation later…

"So, you're my nieces and nephews from the future who evacuated a war?" Enoch asked.

"Long story short – A Devil Fruit that involved time travel was involved, and now we're stuck here," Bridey said with a shrug. Enoch stroked his chin, trying to think.

"Even though you don't technically exist as of yet, I already like you four. I can tell that Kartik and Matsu raised you right as children," Enoch said. "Speaking of your parents, I have a favor to ask of you."

"And that is?" Amelia asked.

"I need to come with you. As you know, my sister and your mother, Matsu, is travelling with the Capricorn Pirates, who are _**very**_ infamous for who they are," Enoch explained. "My sister is a kind woman, and I'm sure she doesn't like what they are doing."

"My wife is also with them. I know she probably isn't a supporter of what the Capricorns can do," Ben added.

"Really? What's your wife's name?" Enoch asked.

"Lydia Kroll-Wyandotte," Ben answered.

"I think I met her. The Capricorns are in town right now if you want to see them," Enoch said.

"I can see Lydia?" Ben asked. Desdemona the grabbed Ben and Andromache by the shoulders.

"Can I speak to Ben and Andromache for a moment?" Desdemona asked.

"Go ahead," Enoch said before Desdemona dragged Ben and Andromache down the hall. As soon as they got to the end of the hallway, Desdemona turned to the Eagle Islanders.

"What the hell are you thinking?! This is the same crew that kidnapped me over a Devil Fruit and tried to kill me!" Desdemona yelled.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Andromache said, tilting her head in confusion. "This is our captain we're talking about. Why won't you let us see her?"

"Do you know who Lydia and Richard ended up with?! A crew so corrupt, they bribe the Marines so they don't end up in the papers! A crew so depraved, they have toyed with the idea of pimping their fellow crew members out to the Dragon Lady's brothels so they could have information on her! A crew so fucked up, they turn their backs on anybody who disagrees with them!" Desdemona yelled. Ben and Andromache opened their mouths in shock.

"Are you serious, Mona?!" Ben cried in shock. "I know you used to be on the crew, but –"

"I'm not making any of this up! The Capricorns almost pimped me out to the Dragon Lady, and they're the reason why I am no longer with them! They are monsters, Ben! I am not sugarcoating this – You need to get Lydia out of there!" Desdemona screeched. In response, Ben grew silent and took a deep breath.

"You're right. Maybe I need to step back and focus on the bigger picture," Ben said. "I'm sorry for being so skeptical, Des. I'm just really concerned for my wife right now."

"Oi, are you guys going to move into this apartment or what?! We're going out for some shopping!"

"Coming!" Desdemona, Ben, and Andromache yelled back to Enoch.

* * *

A few hours of shopping around town later, the Libras, Desdemona, Enoch, Ben, and Andromache returned to the Coachella.

"We're back!" Edmund announced. Locke and Nigel approached him.

"You're just in time. I found this flyer outside the ship," Locke said, handing the flyer over to Edmund. Edmund then scanned the flyer, which said the following:

**Notice: This is not a bounty list from the Marines; Shenhua "The Dragon Lady" Jiang is looking for the following persons listed. If you see these persons around, report it to The Dragon Lady or bring them to the Peony Pavilion, the ship of the Dragon Lady. Rewards will be offered for the capture and/or information of the following individuals…**

**Dewey Kirihana – 20 Beri**

**"Blind" Drusilla – 20 Beri**

**Sebastian Hozuki – 45 Beri**

**Hatori Chidori – 60 Beri**

**Daisuke Saburo – 65 Beri**

**Lydia Kroll-Wyandotte – 75 Beri**

Upon seeing Lydia's name on the list, Ben froze.

"They want to put a bounty on my wife…" Ben said to himself, holding back tears. Then, Ben ran off, pushing Nigel out of his way.

"Oi! Watch it!" Nigel yelled to Ben. Despite the news, Desdemona and Edmund continued to read the list. As they got further and further down the list, the cash rewards kept rising.

**Enlai Li – 50,000 Beri**

**Wolfgang Katsuragi – 50,000**

**Aki Chung-Feng – 60,000 Beri**

**Matsu Takeshima – 65,000 Beri**

**Kartik Abingdon – 70,000 Beri**

**Kazuma Miyafuji – 75,000 Beri**

**Heathcliffe, Holden, and Soren Sarutobi – 80,000 Beri, or 240,000 Beri for all three**

**Yuki-Rin – 100,000 Beri**

Desdemona smiled to herself. After all, revenge was a dish best served cold.

"Hey, Enoch, are the Capricorns still here?" Desdemona asked.

"They'll be leaving tomorrow. Tonight, they're throwing a party at the Twelve Months Hotel. Why do you ask?" Enoch answered.

"I think I know how we're going to get Lydia and Richard to us," Desdemona answered.

* * *

**Baleeria Porto - **It's Portuguese for "Whaling Port". Thank you, Google Translate.

**The Dragon Lady's bounty list - **It's in the order from "least dangerous" (Dewey, since he's, like, thirteen) to "most dangerous" (Yuki-Rin, since she's the captain). Lydia is in the "least dangerous" category, Richard is on the border between "moderately dangerous" and "most dangerous", and Desdemona isn't even on the list because she isn't part of the crew anymore.

**Twelve Months Hotel - **It's a Bland Name Product for the Four Seasons hotels.

**Next chapter, you will finally meet the Capricorns and see how they operate.**


	11. House of Capricorn

**Author's Note: **As promised, you'll see the Capricorns, some new characters, and some fighting in this chapter, so let's get started!

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. If I did, "The DysFUNctional Pirates", "One Piece: Parallel Works", and this fic would be canon spin-offs.**

* * *

Come sunset, Desdemona was preparing to leave the Coachella again.

"I'm not sure if you want to do this, Des. This sounds very dangerous," Edmund pointed out. Desdemona scoffed at Edmund's claim.

"Edmund, this is my chance to get revenge on the crew who wronged me. It's time to do something right," Desdemona explained. "Besides, I've already got Ben coming with me."

Edmund sighed.

"No, you need more people to do this. It's dangerous to go with only one person," Edmund explained. "I'll come with you and Ben to make sure everything goes as planned."

* * *

A few minutes later, Ben, Desdemona, and Edmund set out, with Locke, Miller, Nigel, and Jin-Mao also in tow.

"I don't understand why Miller, Locke, Nigel, and Jin-Mao decided to come along," Ben stated as they walked down the street, weapons in hand.

"You want your wife back, right? Just know that you can't do this alone," Edmund asked as they crossed the street. After reaching the other side of the street, the group arrived at a large, thirty-story hotel that seemed to be made up of all glass.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Ben asked.

"The Twelve Months? Enoch said this was the hotel," Desdemona answered. "All we have to do is wait for the Capricorns or the Dragon Lady to show up."

"I don't think the Dragon Lady would be here. A hotel is too obvious for her motives," Miller explained.

"There's no Red Light District in Baleeria Porto that I know of, so that's out of the question," Locke added.

"So… What's the plan?" Ben asked everyone.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Jin-Mao stated. Immediately, Desdemona began hopping on one foot.

"Can I at least go to the bathroom first?" Desdemona asked. Edmund sighed, annoyed that the plan was going nowhere.

"Jin-Mao will go with you," Edmund said through gritted teeth.

"Thanks, Edmund!" Desdemona yelled before she and Jin-Mao ran into the hotel. Edmund turned to his companions and winked.

"This is our plan? What are they going to do – Spray urine all over the Capricorns' belongings?" Ben asked.

"Nope," Edmund answered. "However, it does help that Desdemona is a scientist."

* * *

In the dark, cramped, and claustrophobic basements under the Twelve Months, something else was going on.

"I just want everybody to know that we found a rat among us today. We don't know her motives, but we know that she wants to destroy us from the inside," A blonde-haired, blue-eyed man with oval-shaped glasses explained. He wore an expensive-looking black suit with a grey, collared shirt and shiny, black, dress shoes. Lydia clenched her fists – Here were the Capricorns all dressed up for a party, and now they're marching through the dark, cold basement looking for the girl who betrayed them. "We also found somebody who came to her rescue. We don't know his motives, so we must treat him like he's below us!"

"They can't do this. Wolfgang can't treat them like this," Lydia whispered to Richard, referring to the blonde, bespectacled man. Richard just sighed in response.

"We can't stop them. They're the Capricorn Pirates," Richard explained. "Give them beauty, they will have vanity. Give them money, they will have power. Give them power, they will have abuse. Give them power, money, and beauty at the same time, then you will have the most corrupt, arrogant, superficial, and depraved individuals out there."

As the group turned a corner, Lydia screamed – A girl with dark, straight hair that went past her shoulders was hanging from a pipe, her wrists tied with rope that was tied off to a thin pipe above. The girl wore a charcoal gray T-shirt under a baggy, forest green cardigan that was unbuttoned, dark-blue skinny jeans, and grey, high-top sneakers.

"April!" Lydia screamed. April looked up, glaring at the Capricorns.

"Ooh! Is this the rat you were talking about, Wolfgang?!" A girl with black hair tied into a ponytail, amber-colored eyes, and big, round glasses asked. She wore a red, flapper-styled, sheath dress, nylon stockings, and black, kitten heels. Wolfgang smirked as he approached April.

"You bet it is, Hana. This is our rat," Wolfgang said, turning to face the Capricorns. In response, April swung her leg and kicked Wolfgang to the ground.

"Fuck you! Fuck all of you!" April screamed as Wolfgang calmly got up and brushed some dirt off of his suit. "All you want is blood and wealth, you arrogant pigs!"

Wolfgang smirked.

"Looks like our rat can bite," Wolfgang commented. "Daisuke, did you bring the knives?"

Daisuke – a green-haired boy in a pinstripe suit – approached Wolfgang. Daisuke then unbuttoned his suit jacket, revealing several knives sheathed inside of a suit vest.

"Take whichever one you want," Daisuke said. Wolfgang then grabbed a knife from the breast pocket of Daisuke's vest.

"This will do for now. We have ways of making rats squeal," Wolfgang said. Before he could turn and face April, Richard ran up to Wolfgang and tackled him to the ground. "What the fuck?!"

Richard grabbed Wolfgang's wrists with one hand.

"That's April Vu you're talking to. Let. Her. Go," Richard said darkly as he tried to wrestle the knife from Wolfgang's hands. However, Wolfgang tightened his grip on the knife. "Well, you asked for it, so we're going to do this the hard way!"

Lifting his leg up, Richard then kneed Wolfgang in the groin hard. As Wolfgang dropped the knife and clutched his groin in pain, Richard grabbed the knife by the handle before it could reach the floor. As Wolfgang got back up, April kicked him hard in the center of his back, sending Wolfgang stumbling into the crowd of Capricorns.

"Karma! What comes around, comes around, you sick bastards!" April yelled before she spat at Wolfgang's feet. With no time to lose, Richard quickly cut April free from the ropes. As she rubbed her wrists to alleviate some of the rope burn, April flipped off the Capricorns.

"Here. Take this knife and go with Lydia! I'll handle this!" Richard yelled as he gave the knife to April. In response, April plunged the knife into the back of Wolfgang's kneecap.

"No thanks," April said before she picked up a metal baseball bat. "I can take it from here."

As April started to run, Daisuke pulled a knife out of his vest and threw it toward April. Without missing a step, April ducked and rolled over to avoid the knife. She then picked up the knife and gave it to Lydia.

"Run. Richard and I will catch up with you," Lydia said to April before she turned around and threw the knife, grazing Daisuke's cheek and embedding itself into the wall. April then took off running down the hall, trying to find an exit or a stairway to the upper floors.

"Hey! Get back here!"

Out of instinct, April ran faster, hoping to lose whoever this was. However, the person caught who caught up to April wasn't a Capricorn – It was a black-haired boy with a quiver of arrows on his back.

"The hell do you want?!" April cried.

"You're the April girl the Capricorns got, right?" The boy asked. April stopped running and spun on her heels so that she was facing the boy.

"Look, if you're with the Capricorns, I will not hesitate to bash your head in right here and now," April explained, gripping her baseball bat tighter. The boy facepalmed.

"My name is Arrowe Benton! Does it look like I work for those psychos?! No!" Arrowe yelled. "I actually tried to save you! I saw the Capricorns knock you out and tie you up, so I followed them down here. I fought them off and escaped, but they came back and I had to hide. I saw what you did back there – That was pretty bold of you to openly defy them."

April raised her baseball bat.

"Are you hitting on me?" April asked sternly. Arrowe sweatdropped.

"No, I'm not hitting on you. I barely know you," Arrowe answered.

"April! Run!"

Lydia and Richard ran up to the two.

"How do we get out of here?!" April asked.

"There's a service elevator nearby! We'll use that!" Richard yelled.

* * *

Upstairs, on the ground floor of the hotel, Jin-Mao sat in the lobby of the hotel, reading a comic book and waiting for Desdemona. Unlike the basements below, the lobby was huge and well-lit, with several chandeliers and wall sconces lighting the lobby. The cream-colored walls and white, marble flooring only added to the abundance of light in the lobby. Several feet away from Jin-Mao, a beautiful woman sat at a piano, playing a soothing, light melody.

"I'm back!"

Desdemona ran up to Jin-Mao, a strap from her backpack sliding off of her shoulder. Jin-Mao closed his comic book.

"What took you so long? I could have gone down to the bookstore to get more manga during the time you were gone," Jin-Mao asked.

"I wasn't feeling well," Desdemona lied. Jin-Mao remained silent. "That was a cover-up. I'm ready to put our plan into action now."

At that moment, Richard, Lydia, April, and Arrowe ran past. Desdemona then ran off after them.

"Richard! Lydia!" Desdemona screamed as she ran through the lobby. Jin-Mao sweatdropped.

"I still have no idea what we're supposed to be doing…" Jin-Mao said to himself before he got up from the couch he was sitting on and walked away.

* * *

Outside, Edmund, Miller, Ben, Locke, and Nigel were still waiting on Jin-Mao and/or Desdemona.

"So… Lovely weather we've been having," Ben said, trying to start a conversation amidst the awkward silence between the five.

"Ben?! Ben?!"

Desdemona ran up to the five.

"And?" Locke asked. Desdemona smiled as Richard, Lydia, April, Jin-Mao, and Arrowe approached the group. Immediately, Ben broke out into a huge grin.

"Lydia… You've found my wife… Thank you, Desdemona," Ben said before he started to cry. Lydia then walked over to Ben and put her arms around her.

"Ben, I'm here. Everything's going to be fine," Lydia said to Ben.

"Well, if you lovebirds don't mind, we need to at least acknowledge the elephant in the room that is the Capricorn Pirates," Richard interjected. Everybody turned to Richard and Desdemona.

"What are we supposed to do?" Miller asked everyone.

"I want Jin-Mao to take Richard, Lydia, and Ben to the Hyperion and gather their belongings and April's belongings. When they are done, they are to go straight to the Coachella. It's too dangerous for them to stay on the Hyperion," Desdemona explained. "April and Arrowe will stay with me to ensure that the plan will go as smoothly as possible. Lastly, Miller, Edmund, Locke, and Nigel will look for the Dragon Lady and any brothel she may have. Do you all understand what you need to do?"

"Yes, Desdemona!" Edmund said. Desdemona then stuck her hand out.

"All for one…" Desdemona said. Richard, Ben, Lydia, and April then stuck their hands over Desdemona's hand.

"…One for all…" Lydia, Richard, Ben, and April said. Jin-Mao, Miller, Arrowe, Edmund, Nigel, and Locke then stuck their own hands over everybody else's hands.

"…And none for the Capricorns!" Everybody yelled.

* * *

**No ending notes this time around. Eta will show up again when this mess with the Capricorns ends next chapter.**


	12. No Flaw in Our Plan

**Author's Note: **And, so, the Libras put their plan into place! What will happen next?! Read on, folks! Read on.

**Disclaimer: Eichiiro Oda owns One Piece. If I owned One Piece, I'd allow so many One Piece fanfics I like to become canon material.**

* * *

Back on the Coachella, the rest of the Libras were getting anxious and nervous. They wondered why Desdemona decided to go out with Edmund, Miller, Jin-Mao, Ben, Locke, and Nigel without telling them where they were going to go. To decrease some of the tension, some of the Libras decided to play their favorite game, Humanity vs. Cards.

"Okay, you're joining a pirate crew, and you're only allowed to bring ONE item. What do you take?" Rhett read off from his card to Aurelia, Stella-Rondo, Mason, Fernando, Yukari, Kazura, and Enoch, who were playing against him.

"A beached whale!" Aurelia yelled as she slammed her card onto the table.

"A loaded gun," Stella-Rondo said as she set her card on the table.

"The blood of the innocents!" Mason yelled.

"La chancla," Fernando said, putting down a card.

"What the hell is a 'chancla'?" Rhett asked.

"Basically, in some cultures, whenever a kid misbehaves, their mother takes off her shoe and hits the kid with it," Fernando explained. "I was raised by my grandmother, Magda, and I got hit with la chancla a lot."

A flying sandal then hit Fernando in the head. Everybody sweatdropped.

"Your grandma can dimension-hop?" Mason asked. Before Yukari could put her card down, Ben rushed into the room.

"Andromache, come with me _**now**_!" Ben said urgently. Andromache looked up from the magazine she was idly flipping through.

"What happened?" Andromache asked. Ben just grabbed Andromache's hands in response.

"I have no time to explain! I will explain everything at a later time!" Ben yelled before he and Andromache ran from the Coachella. The Libras sweatdropped.

"I think something happened," Enoch stated.

"Enoch, you're kind of getting ahead of yourself. Everybody's fine," Kazura re-assured Enoch. However, Enoch didn't listen.

"I want everybody to grab a weapon. Better to be safe than sorry," Enoch said to the Libras. Although they didn't know what was going on with Desdemona, Ben, Andromache, Miller, Edmund, Jin-Mao, Locke, Nigel, or any of the Capricorns, a wave of fear washed over the crew.

"Uncle Enoch, are you sure that Edmund is fine?" Bridey asked nervously.

"He's the oldest, right? Then, he should be fine," Enoch asked. Jin-Mao, Andromache, Ben, April, Lydia, and Richard then entered the room, and the mood lightened up.

"Hey. Looks like we're going to have more people travelling with us," Jin-Mao said. Enoch threw his hands up into the air out of exasperation.

"Wonderful! You can call us a 'Party Wagon' now!" Enoch yelled.

* * *

With Nigel, Locke, and Miller, they were wandering the Red Light District of Baleeria Porto. True to its name, the Red Light District was lit with red, Christmas lights hanging over the streets; as this Red Light District was filled with people in fancy dress – prostitutes, pimps, madams, or otherwise -, Miller, Nigel, and Locke stuck out in their casual clothing.

"Okay, whose idea was it to come here?!" Miller asked everyone.

"Desdemona told us to look for the Dragon Lady as part of her revenge plot," Locke reminded everyone. Miller glared at Locke.

"I'd rather Edmund be in my place right now. I feel so uncomfortable here," Miller explained. "I don't understand _**why**_ any of this is legal. It's depraved."

"What difference would it make if Edmund were in your place?!" Nigel and Locke yelled to Miller. Before Miller could say anything, a loud, shrill voice cut him off.

"Can I help you handsome boys?!"

A beautiful – but drunk – woman in a Mandarin gown approached the three.

"Yeah, have you seen the Dragon Lady around here? We know where the Capricorn Pirates are and we would like to speak to her regarding the matter," Locke explained.

"The Dragon Lady?! I can take you there, if the ginger shows me the goods!" The prostitute slurred, pointing to a now-blushing Nigel.

"I'm bisexual. I have a boyfriend," Nigel calmly explained to the prostitute. With a sound of disapproval, the drunken prostitute turned toward Miller.

"What about you, kid? Got the goods?" The prostitute asked, running her fingers through Miller's hair.

"Can you please stop that?!" Miller asked. The prostitute ignored Miller and began to hug him.

"Why?! Why don't you love me?!" The drunk prostitute cried. Miller then pushed the prostitute off of him.

"Look, I don't even know who you are! You have to stop doing that! I've already told you to stop harassing me!" Miller yelled. A small crowd gathered to watch the fight brewing between Miller and the prostitute.

"Nothing to see here! Move along!" Locke shouted to the crowd watching the fight.

"I can watch if I want to! It's a free country, man!" A man in a tuxedo – who was most likely a pimp – yelled, flipping off Locke. Locke glared at the crowd.

"Look, we don't want any more trouble! It would be a big help if you stopped watching!" Locke yelled to the crowd. Nigel just sighed.

"Bloody hell, that's not going to work…" Nigel said under his breath. A few feet away, the prostitute now had a broken bottle and was holding the sharp, green-colored, jagged shards of the bottle's neck to Miller's neck.

"If I can't have this man, NOBODY will!" The drunken prostitute yelled. Nigel then ran up to the prostitute and grabbed her wrists.

"No! You are _**not**_ killing anybody tonight! Stop harassing Miller!" Nigel yelled. The prostitute then kicked Nigel in the stomach. Turning around, the prostitute then held the broken bottle up to Nigel's neck. Miller then grabbed the prostitute by the collar of her dress and threw her into the crowd of spectators watching the fight.

"Holy shit! These guys are worse than I thought!"

"Who the hell are these people?!"

The crowd then ran off in different directions, leaving Miller, Locke, and Nigel alone with the drunk – and now unconscious – prostitute. As Miller helped Nigel up, the sound of somebody clapping was heard from a few feet away.

"Bravo, bravo. You've put up quite the show, boys."

A beautiful, dark-haired woman approached them. Like the prostitute who attacked Miller, she also wore a Mandarin dress.

"Are you the Dragon Lady?" Miller asked. The Dragon Lady smiled.

"I am. The Baleeria Porto Red Light District is one of my territories. How can I help you three tonight?" The Dragon Lady asked. Locke pulled the Dragon Lady's list of wanted Capricorns out from the pocket of his jeans.

"We would like to answer this ad. The Capricorn Pirates are on this island, and they kidnapped one of our friends," Locke explained to the Dragon Lady. "Our friends are currently in the process of capturing them, so come with us."

The Dragon Lady smiled.

"Thank you," The Dragon Lady thanked. "For your contribution, not only will I pay you the cash rewards, but I will give you and your friends immunity. That means that you will never be conscripted into my brothels or murdered by me or my crew. Consider this your lucky day."

Locke gave the Dragon Lady a strained smile. She was a dangerous lady, but her offer was too good to refuse.

"Thank you very much, madam. We have a deal," Locke said.

* * *

At the Twelve Months Hotel, Edmund and Desdemona were in the large, elegant ballroom, putting their plan into action.

"So… We're going to chase the Capricorns out with fire?" Edmund asked.

"It's too dangerous. When we came in, I noticed that the tables and chairs were covered in paraffin wax, which is extremely flammable. There are also long curtains that drape over the tables toward the back of the room, and if we close the Capricorns in with fire, the entire hotel could burn down and we could end up killing a bunch of people who have nothing to do with our plans," Desdemona explained. "Instead, we have the best weapon I could have to knock the Capricorns out – Smoke bombs. At some point, the ventilation system will turn on and the bombs will go off, allowing smoke to be vented into the room. However, if the smoke bombs ignite wrong, we've got a massive fire on our hands."

Edmund whistled in response.

"Did this take years for you to plan, or what?" Edmund asked.

"Only a few hours. The revenge part was planned ever since the Capricorns kicked me out," Desdemona explained. "Will I bury the hatchet after tonight? Not really, after what they did to Arrowe, Richard, Lydia, and April."

Somewhere in the hotel, a clock chimed, signaling that it was now seven o'clock at night. "We have to get out of here. The Capricorns' party starts in a half-hour!"

* * *

A half-hour later, the Capricorns' party started. Many well-dressed individuals, from pirates to socialites, were in attendance. However, Desdemona and Edmund were rather annoyed with the turn-out. As they watched the party from an above staircase – both standing out in the crowd with their jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers -, Desdemona and Edmund wondered how powerful the Capricorns could be.

"I don't even know most of these people," Edmund stated. Desdemona laughed.

"It feels like we're background characters in some television show," Desdemona commented. "Or, that we're going to get kicked out of this hotel for loitering."

"Just tell them that we're waiting for someone," Edmund said. "It always works."

Desdemona and Edmund continued to stand there in silence, watching the party and listening to the somewhat loud, saccharine, pop music. A few minutes later, Desdemona felt a cool breeze on the back of her arms and heard the loud whirring of machinery.

"The AC is starting up!" Desdemona yelled as she took her backpack off and began to look through it. A second later, she pulled out two gas masks. "Put this on! I smell smoke!"

As Edmund put his gas mask on, he noticed something.

"Uncle Enoch?" Edmund asked, running over to the railings for a better look. "Des, my Uncle Enoch is down there!"

Fire and smoke alarms then went off. Through the noise, Desdemona mouthed something along the lines of "Get Enoch out." Edmund nodded as the two ran down the stairs, smoke clouding their vision. As Desdemona and Edmund stumbled through the hazy, smoky room, they were pushed and jolted around as the crowd of party goers tried to exit the room. As Edmund and Desdemona tried to follow everyone out, somebody grabbed their shoulders.

"I already escorted the Capricorns out. They're disoriented, but otherwise fine. However, they're disoriented enough to not know their surroundings."

Desdemona and Edmund turned back, and they saw Enoch, who was now in a tuxedo. Through her gas mask, Desdemona smiled.

"_Success…_" Desdemona thought to herself.

* * *

Outside, Nigel, Miller, Locke, and the Dragon Lady were receiving the disoriented, confused Capricorns.

"I will only need the Capricorn Pirates for this operation! Everybody else can leave the area!" The Dragon Lady shouted to the other party guests before she turned to the three Libras. "Your plan to get the Capricorns to me was ingenious and clever. Who came up with it? I must know."

"It's my plan."

Desdemona, Enoch, and Edmund approached the group, gas masks now around their necks. The Dragon Lady then approached Desdemona.

"Sheffield, we meet again," The Dragon Lady said. "Who knew you would turn against your own crew."

Desdemona laughed nervously.

"They turned against me after our little tete-a-tete, so I had to get back at them somehow," Desdemona explained. The Dragon Lady said nothing as she handed a roll of cash to Desdemona.

"I already paid your crew with the main cash rewards, but here's a little something for that brilliant plan of yours. You have also earned immunity in my book, meaning that you will never be conscripted to any of my brothels or be murdered at my hands or my crew's hands," The Dragon Lady explained. Desdemona gave the Dragon Lady a small, but confused, smile.

"Thank you?" Desdemona asked.

"No. Thank _**you**_ for turning in my enemies," The Dragon Lady thanked the Libras before she turned to the Capricorns. "I can take you back to the ship, if you want. Let's go!"

* * *

The next morning, at the breakfast table…

"Last evening, the Twelve Months Hotel was evacuated due to heavy smoke in the ballroom. This happened at around eight o'clock last night, when a large party was being held in the ballroom. Two people were taken to the Baleeria Porto Seashore Hospital for smoke inhalation, and they are listed in 'good' condition this morning. Investigators are looking at a faulty ventilation system as the cause of the smoke," Edmund read from the morning paper. Desdemona snickered to herself.

"They don't know what _**really**_ happened," Desdemona said to everyone. "I just got away with this, and everyone thinks it's a bad ventilation system."

Some of the Libras laughed nervously, but others remained silent.

"Des, you are such a badass. You have to tell me your secrets," April said.

"Do you like science? If you do, then you'll enjoy the re-enactment I have set up," Desdemona explained.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Enoch pointed out. "Once was enough."

* * *

"Up! Get the hell up right now!"

As the Capricorns slowly awakened inside their ship, they could tell something was off. With no time to shower or generally care about how they looked, the Capricorns threw on whatever clothes they could find and entered the main hall of the Hyperion. Waiting for them was the Dragon Lady.

"Good morning, Capricorn Pirates," The Dragon Lady said to the crew. "I'm sure you're all wondering what I'm doing here."

As the Dragon Lady paused, the Capricorns only had one thought on their mind – Desdemona Sheffield.

* * *

**La chancla - **In Mexican culture, la chancla is a shoe that people use to hit their children when they do something bad. Look up "La chancla" on Youtube for a better explanation.

Also, Fernando randomly getting hit with la chancla may or may not become a running gag in this fic.

**"Feels like we're in the background of some television show..." - **Yes, Desdemona may or may not have broken the Fourth Wall.

**Next chapter will have a lot of things - Appearances from Eta, Griffin, Seven, and Gaerik, some gambling, and a new character or two. Should be fun.**


	13. Party Wagon

**Author's Note: **So, here is the new chapter. It's on the short side, since we're setting up for more things to come.

Also, updates may slow down on this fic for the next few days or so because my laptop is having some minor issues that need to be fixed.

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. If I did, Sanji and Robin would be a canon couple.**

* * *

**Lougetown, East Blue**

Later that same morning, the news of what had happen at the Twelve Months Hotel in Baleeria Porto had reached Lougetown. However, it was the fallout of the incident that shocked many – The infamous Capricorn Pirates were now under the custody of the Dragon Lady. Did this mean the Capricorns were going to Impel Down? Did it mean the Dragon Lady would have them executed? Did it mean that the Dragon Lady was now going to pimp the Capricorns out as prostitutes?

For Eta Goodwin, the news came as somewhat of a surprise. Final preparations for the World's Fair of Lougetown were currently underway, so Eta theorized that this was part of the whole show the Shichibukai wanted to put on. At the end of the day, it was all in the name of putting on a good show to make sure people liked you.

As Eta stood in the small convenience store reading the Lougetown Daily Post, she wondered who brought the Capricorns to justice – Well, using the term "justice" was pretty loose, since they weren't captured by the Marines. However, it was still an eye for an eye in many cases, so somebody who the Capricorns wronged wanted revenge. Not once did Eta consider the fact that Desdemona could be behind the capture.

"Excuse me, but you're kind of holding the line up."

Eta turned back, and she saw a girl with boy-short, ice-blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a lavender-colored corset top with white trim, dark-blue, high-waisted jeans, and black ballet flats.

"Oh, I'm not buying anything. I just wanted to read the paper," Eta explained. "I'll be done with it in a moment."

"Oi, Ecru, I hope you're not causing any trouble with that boy you're talking to!"

A boy approached the two, carrying a shopping basket filled with various snacks and drinks. He was a very handsome boy, with blonde, tousled-looking hair, hazel-colored eyes, and a muscular figure. He wore a tight, red T-shirt, black jeans, black, fingerless gloves, and dark-grey sneakers.

"Boy?! You think I'm a boy?!" Eta yelled before she punched the boy in the face.

"My face! My beautiful face!" The boy shouted as he put a hand to the cheek Eta punched. Ecru – whom Eta assumed was the girl who she talked to – nudged the boy hard in the ribs. "Stop it! Why are women always out to hurt me?!"

Eta sweatdropped.

"Do you know this guy?" Eta asked.

"He's my boyfriend. We came here for the World's Fair of Lougetown," Ecru explained. "What about you? Are you here for the festival?"

"Yes and no!" Eta answered proudly. "I'm also here waiting for my pen pals! We're going to the Grand Line! I'm Eta Goodwin! What's your name?!"

"I'm Ecru Heath," Ecru introduced herself. Ecru's boyfriend then came closer to Eta and began to shake her hand vigorously.

"Peter Kearsarge-Hilton, at your service! What can I do for you today?!" Ecru's boyfriend introduced himself.

"Be my friends!" Eta answered. "We can go to the World's Fair of Lougetown together and have lots of fun!"

Peter smiled.

"You know what? We do need a friend to come with us! I don't want Ecru's grandma going after us because she thinks we're screwing each other!" Peter yelled. Eta cheered.

"Yay! New Friends!" Eta yelled.

* * *

A minute later, Eta, Peter, and Ecru left the store, bags of food and drinks in hand.

"So, what are you guys going to do when the World's Fair of Lougetown is over?" Eta asked.

"Hey, you! If you see my friends, give this to them!"

A tall, stocky man with dark hair ran up to Eta and gave him a letter. Right after the man ran off, a flannel shirt-clad boy with dirty-blonde hair ran up to him.

"Did you see a tall, dark-haired guy named Griffin Gethard run past?" The boy asked. Eta handed him the letter.

"He told me to give you this," Eta answered. The boy opened the letter, scanning it over.

**To Calamity Quintus-Tyler, Leanne Pratt, Marcello Fellini, Esri Kishitani, and Aimee Mershade,**

**If you find this and you are in Lougetown, I'm not in the city. I ran into Seven earlier, and we went down to the Gol D. Roger casino. Well… We ran into the Dragon Lady and she took him away, proclaiming that if I want to get Seven back, I have to go to Mandalay City to find him.**

**If I die trying to get to Seven, keep the Calamity Griffin Show running, but keep the name. Also, Calamity gets all my stuff if I die. Everyone else can fight him for my stuff.**

**Griffin Gethard**

**P.S. Also, if you meet Eta Goodwin, Hettienne Leung, and/or Desdemona Sheffield, stay with them and tell them what happened.**

The boy looked up from the letter.

"Eta Goodwin?" The boy asked. Eta waved her hand.

"That's me!" Eta yelled. The boy sighed.

"My name is Gaerik Pratt. I was told to stay with you until Griffin came to Lougetown," Gaerik explained. "We arrived in Lougetown last night, but Griffin had something to take care of on Mandalay Island. He'll be back in a few days."

* * *

About an hour after Eta, Peter, Ecru, and Gaerik left the convenience store, Hettienne and Matilda arrived at the same convenience store to pick up the daily paper.

"You two here for the festival?" The clerk asked Hettienne and Matilda as they browsed the rack of newspapers.

"Kind of. We're supposed to meet up with friends when the festival is over so we can go to the Grand Line," Matilda explained.

"Be careful out on the Grand Line. I grew up in Yukijima – which is about a hundred miles from Reverse Mountain -, and I saw some crazy shit out there," The clerk explained.

"Woah!" Matilda yelled.

"What?" Hettienne asked back.

"So much stuff has happened during our trip down to Lougetown. I can't say if it's bordering on tabloid journalism or not," Matilda explained, motioning to stacks of newspapers that beared over-the-top – but, unfortunately, true – headlines such as:

**Queen Vivi Nefertari of Alabasta near death!**

**The search of Hettienne Leung: Is she in Mountain High, North Blue?**

**Twelve construction workers injured assembling World's Fair of Lougetown main stage**

**Shichibukai Seven "Lucky Seven" Weintraub kidnapped and taken to Mandalay Island, subsequently beaten! His condition at a Mandalay Island hospital detailed on page 4.**

Hettienne laughed to herself as she read the headline regarding her disappearance.

"We should buy at least one copy of each newspaper. A lot has happened in the world, and we missed it," Matilda explained to Hettienne as she stacked several newspapers on top of each other.

* * *

**Syrup Village, East Blue**

It was a beautiful, warm day in Syrup Village, and the Libras, Desdemona, Lydia, Richard, April, Ben, Andromache, Enoch, and Arrowe decided to take advantage of the good weather and explore the island.

"Well, I guess my comments on calling us a 'Party Wagon' were pretty accurate," Enoch observed. "We should just call ourselves the 'Party Wagon' and call it a day."

"Oi! Is there an opening on your little Party Wagon?!"

A boy with spiky, white hair ran up to the group, bags and a sheathed sword in his hand. His outfit was simple, yet dressy – A white, short-sleeved, collared shirt, grey jeans, and black sneakers.

"I think so," Desdemona answered.

"Well, I really have to get out of here. My wedding is today, and… Well, the bride is a whore, my parents are crazy, and I really don't want to go through with this marriage," The boy explained.

"How old are you?" Edmund asked.

"I'm eighteen. My name is Eliezer Ciumak, and I'm willing to do whatever kind of work you want," The boy introduced himself. Enoch sighed in defeat.

"See? What did I tell you guys? We really should call ourselves the 'Party Wagon'!" Enoch said sarcastically. In the distance, an older woman with graying, blonde hair and a man with a long nose watched the group have their picnic.

"Ah, to be young," The man with the long nose commented. "Those were the days where Captain Usopp and his armada would come home every year in the spring for the huge picnic the islanders would throw for us."

"Oh, Usopp. Still telling lies at the age of 64," The old woman commented before she grew sad. "When are you going to Alabasta to see Vivi?"

"In a few days, Kaya. Sanji, Robin, and Nami are coming with me, and we're going to pick up Brook at Reverse Mountain," Usopp explained to the older woman. "You can come, if you want to."

"No thank you. This concerns your nakama," Kaya said darkly. Although dark times were in store for Usopp and Kaya, the two continued to watch the so-called "Party Wagon".

* * *

**The newspaper headlines: **Only two of them will serve importance to the story. From what happened in the chapter, I think you already know what headlines will serve major importance.

**Party Wagon: **Enoch's title for the Libra/Eagle Islander/Desdemona/Arrowe/Eliezer alliance comes from a Cartoon Network movie titled _Party Wagon_, which was about the members of a big, wild, wagon train on the Oregon Trail (no, they did not die of dysentery). If you want to watch it, it's right here on Youtube (in multiple parts, FYI): www . you tube channel / UC zut Y ggo 4 HRCE b HE x 3 hm D a A

**Also, in the next chapter, two of the pen-pals are FINALLY going to meet each other (even though Griffin briefly spoke to Eta). Which two pen-pals will meet?**


	14. Viva Mandalay City!

**Author's Note: **Everybody, go on Youtube and look up the song _Indie Rokkers _by MGMT. Then, play the song during the scene where the Coachella is sailing through the canal. Got that?

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. If I did, I'd pay all my favorite artists money so I could use their music in One Piece (like MGMT).**

* * *

The next night, the "Party Wagon" were on their way to the next island. Since leaving Syrup Village the previous day, they had not seen another island since.

"Anybody know what island we're supposed to go to next?" Ben asked everyone.

"I think the Conami Islands are next, with Cocoyashi Village as our next stop," Enoch answered, not looking up from the map spread out on the table in front of him. "Of course, it depends on what route we're taking and the weather conditions."

Ben walked over to the table and began looking over the map.

"Enoch, this map was made eighty years ago. It says 'East Blue, Circa 1489' at the bottom," Ben pointed out. In response, Enoch crumbled up the map.

"We'll buy a new map when we get to the next island," Enoch said. Then, the ship jolted and began to rise. "What's going on?!"

Everybody ran onto the bow of the Coachella, to discover that the ship was being lifted into the banks of a wide canal. A cement wall separated the canal lengthwise, and other ships quickly passed by on the other side. Surrounding the canal was desert, with some mountainous areas several miles to the left of the canals.

"Welcome to the fabulous Mandalay Island!"

The Party Wagon looked up, and they saw a short, old man sitting in a lifeguard booth perched above the canal.

"Hi, there! Where are we?!" Edmund asked the old man.

"You are at Mandalay Island, home of the world-famous Mandalay City! In a half-hour, you will arrive at the outskirts of Mandalay City, where gambling, dancing, shopping, and entertainment await! Enjoy your stay at Mandalay City, because what happens on Mandalay Island stays on Mandalay Island!" The old man explained. With another jolt, the Coachella began to move again, with the currents of the canal propelling the ship. Although a bit fast, the ride was smooth.

"Enoch, I swear to God, I am going to kill you if we end up in a bad place," Mason commented as the Party Wagon watched the desert scenery fly by before their eyes.

"Don't worry, Mason. Mandalay Island is a good place," Enoch said. "I hope you like gambling, because Mandalay Island has about a hundred and thirty casinos."

"Uncle Enoch, are you forgetting that several of us are underage?" Amelia asked.

"If anybody asks about how old you are, lie to them. Does that answer your question?" April sardonically answered.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, April," Richard said. April sighed.

"Why can't I have fun?! What do you want me to do on this island?! Visit the elderly and watch soap operas with them?!" April yelled.

"April, we're just trying to play it safe. We don't want a repeat of what happened with the Capricorns," Ben explained. April glared at Ben.

"You're no fun," April said before she walked over to Aleksandar and Mason. Ben just shrugged.

"You know, I don't even see anything," Eliezer commented as he stared straight into the horizon.

"The old man said it was going to take about thirty minutes to get to Mandalay City, and we've only been moving for about a minute or two," Desdemona explained. "Maybe in about fifteen minutes, we'll see something."

For a few minutes, everything was silent, as the Party Wagon watched the landscape fly by. Many of them haven't been on a ship that went this fast, let alone on a ship going through fast currents.

After about fifteen or twenty minutes spent in silence, the first lights of Mandalay City began to appear on the horizon.

"Hey! I think that's Mandalay City!" Jin-Mao yelled as he pointed to the horizon. The Party Wagon then crowded around the edge of the bow, watching in awe as the brightly-lit city came into view.

"The old man was not kidding with us when he said that there were over a hundred casinos," Andromache commented with a whistle.

"So, how long are we supposed to be here?" Fernando asked everyone.

"I'd say two nights at the most, just to play it safe," Ben answered. "I know some of us need to get to Lougetown, but we're making good time."

* * *

About twenty minutes later, the Party Wagon were docked and they were exploring Mandalay City. The city was large and bright, consisting of a main street with several, tall, resort casinos in varying architectural styles, from skyscrapers to buildings designed as pagodas, to even a pyramid. Many people were walking the streets, and just as many were performing instruments or magical acts, trying to get people to come to their shows (or to get gambling money).

"So, where are we supposed to start?" Ben asked everyone.

"Who died and made you captain?" Mason asked Ben.

"Maybe we could get something to eat," Fernando suggested.

"Where do we start?!" The rest of the Party Wagon asked Fernando.

"I don't know. Chinese place? Sushi? Pizza place? Trendy cupcake shop? There are so many places to eat here," Fernando asked.

"How about we start with one of those buffets? That way, we all get what we want," Edmund suggested.

* * *

True to Edmund's word, the group eventually ended up at a buffet. While the buffet was a nondescript buffet overlooking a casino, the Party Wagon's table was piled high with various food and drinks, some of which were stacked onto other platters of food.

"This is some of the best breakfast food, lunch food, snack food, tea time food, supper food, finger food, dinner food, dessert food, late night snack food, brunch food, party food, drunk food, hangover food, healthy food –" Mason yelled before Miller cut him off.

"Can't you just say it's the best food ever?" Miller asked.

"It IS the best food ever," Mason answered, pointing his fork toward Miller. "Also, who's paying for all of this?!"

"Not me," Miller answered. "I'd be in debt by paying for this meal."

Then, somebody – or something – threw a bowl of ice cream onto Miller's head. Mason laughed in response. "Mason, what the hell?!"

"Wasn't me," Mason answered. "Really. It wasn't me."

Miller responded by shoving several steamed buns into Mason's mouth. Mason then spit the steamed buns out and threw them at Miller.

"Food fight!"

As Mason started to throw food, a waiter approached the table.

"Is there a Desdemona Sheffield here?!" The waiter asked. The Party Wagon immediately stopped throwing their food.

"That's me," Desdemona said. The waiter gave Desdemona a DenDen Mushi.

"Phone call for you," The waiter said. Desdemona picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" Desdemona asked.

"_Desdemona, it's me, the Dragon Lady. I need you to do me a quick favor. Will you go down to the University of Mandalay City Hospital with me? We need to visit a friend of mine._"

"I don't know your friends. How do you know that we're not visiting one of your courtesans?" Desdemona asked.

"_We're not visiting anybody related to my business ventures, Sheffield. Meet me at the hospital in twenty minutes._"

The line then went dead. Desdemona turned to her nakama, who were all wondering what was going on.

"I need to go run a quick errand. I shouldn't be too long," Desdemona asked.

"If you can, meet us back here at the buffet. If not, go back to the Coachella," Enoch stated.

* * *

A short walk later, Desdemona found herself inside of a clean, sterile hospital. Inside the small waiting room, a few patients milled about, watching television, reading the magazines left scattered on various tables, or sleeping.

"Are you visiting anybody today, hon?" A receptionist asked Desdemona.

"She's with me. We are both visiting Seven Weintraub."

The Dragon Lady then marched into the waiting room, high heels clicking against the tiled floor. Immediately, everybody in the waiting room grew silent; one of the people in the waiting room even muted the television.

"Do anything funny to that girl, and I will murder you!" A man in a wheelchair shouted from across the room, raising a crutch propped up next to his wheelchair as a makeshift weapon if necessary. The Dragon Lady glared at the man.

"For your information, this girl is under my tutelage, and she has been given special treatment under my orders," The Dragon Lady explained before she ushered Desdemona into the nearest hallway. As Desdemona and the Dragon Lady hurried down the hall, Desdemona began to talk.

"What's going on?"

"One of my charges kidnapped and beat up a colleague of mine, and he's been recovering in this hospital. He'll be released tomorrow," The Dragon Lady answered curtly. "On top of that, the Capricorns have escaped my custody shortly after my colleague was taken to the hospital."

"They probably didn't want to take the fall for it, or they didn't want to be your scapegoats. Typical Capricorns," Desdemona observed. Instead of getting mad at Desdemona at her accusations that the Dragon Lady was going to use them as a scapegoat, the Dragon Lady only furrowed her brow in deep thought.

"They probably did," The Dragon Lady answered in agreement. "Although, they did escape before I had the chance to pimp them out tonight to the wealthiest gamblers in town. It's probably a coincidence."

Desdemona and the Dragon Lady then entered one of the hospital rooms, where a man with orange hair sat in a hospital bed, flipping through the channels on the television.

"Hello, Seven Weintraub! Looks like you got lucky in this fight!" The Dragon Lady yelled as she entered the room. Seven looked up from the television remote in his hand.

"Go to Hell, Jiang. I want no part in your dealings," Seven stated bluntly. "All I want is for you to take me back to Lougetown in time for the World's Fair of Lougetown with no further suspicions raised."

"Seven, I – Woah! Did you just call a prostitute into your hospital room?!"

A stocky-black hair boy entered the room, carrying a lunch tray consisting of some chicken, steamed vegetables, a dinner roll with a pat of butter, three cookies, and a pint of milk, all of which look unappetizing. Seven glared at the boy.

"Griffin Gethard, that 'prostitute' is the Dragon Lady! I swear to God, do you want to be in this hospital bed instead of me?! Because I WILL make it happen!" Seven yelled. Upon hearing the name "Griffin Gethard", Desdemona spun on her heels so that she was facing Griffin.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Desdemona answered.

"A fan of the Calamity Griffin Show? I'm honored," Griffin answered. "If you like, you can donate to the Calamity Griffin Fund so we can keep our show running. A donation of one Beri will get you a thank-you note from me. A donation of five Beri will get you an un-autographed postcard of the cast. However, if you want an autographed postcard, it will cost you –"

Desdemona then stomped onto Grffin's foot.

"My name is Desdemona Sheffield! We were pen-pals in elementary school, and now we're supposed to meet up with our other pen-pals, Hettienne Leung and Eta Goodwin! Does any of this ring a bell to you?!" Desdemona yelled. The Dragon Lady and Seven silently looked to each other.

"Griffin… You know this girl?" Seven asked.

"You know this idiot?" The Dragon Lady bluntly asked. Griffin sighed.

"Desdemona Sheffield and I were pen-pals in elementary school, and we just met face-to-face right now," Griffin explained. Once again, the Dragon Lady and Seven looked to each other for advice. After a moment, they turned back to the two pen-pals.

"Desdemona, Griffin, why don't you two step outside and get to know each other?" The Dragon Lady asked. "In fact, the both of you may leave the hospital, if you wish. This is no place to get to know each other."

* * *

A few minutes later, Desdemona and Griffin were wandering the streets of Mandalay City.

"So…" Desdemona said, not knowing what to say to her pen-pal. "Did you meet Hettienne or Eta yet?"

"Not yet. It would be a hell of a lot easier if we sent pictures," Griffin answered as they approached the Coachella.

"Do you at least have a ride back to Lougetown?" Desdemona asked.

"No, because I was supposed to go back with Seven, but he fucking ditched me and is going with the Dragon Lady," Griffin explained as they boarded the Coachella.

"Come with us. It would save the both of us a lot of trouble," Desdemona offered. Griffin sighed.

"Damn, you're good," Griffin stated.

"Except, you have to travel with some time-travelers, a pirate crew, an archer who escaped some sort of totalitarian state, and a gypsy," Desdemona added.

"At least you don't have a lumberjack and his six brothers breathing down your neck," Griffin pointed out. Desdemona laughed nervously, thoughts of Miller in her head.

"Anyway, I think we should probably go find the group. Enoch will probably get pissed and go on some rant on how there's too many people on this ship," Desdemona said. "I think they're still having dinner."

As Desdemona and Griffin left the Coachella, a pink-haired girl wearing all white sat on the mast, watching it all. However, this girl was not human.

"We meet again, Desdemona. Except we're allies this time."

* * *

**Mandalay City - **If you haven't figured it out yet, Mandalay City is heavily based off of Las Vegas.

**The food fight - **You'll see who - or what - caused it in the next chapter.

**Speaking of the next chapter, remember when the Dragon Lady said that the Capricorns escaped her custody? Yeah... And they're pretty pissed at Desdemona right now.**


	15. Ghost Girl

**Author's Note: **Alright, everybody, we've got two fight scenes in this chapter, so pass the popcorn!

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. If I did, Vivi would have stayed with the Straw Hats.**

* * *

Not even a minute after Desdemona and Griffin left the Coachella, the Abingdon siblings returned to drop off the leftovers from the huge, buffet dinner.

"Looks like we're going to save money on the food budget," Edmund commented as he placed containers of food into the fridge. "Now comes the hard part – Figuring out who ate what and making sure nobody eats somebody else's food. Already, I'm confused."

Somebody then knocked on the door.

"I'll get it! Desdemona must be back from her errand!"

With a spring in his step, Edmund walked down the hall and opened the door that led onto the deck. As soon as Edmund opened the door, somebody lunged at Edmund and began to strangle him. Edmund then flailed in an attempt to get his attacker off of him, and he succeeded five seconds later when he kicked his attacker in the stomach, which sent him backwards.

"Edmund, what's going on out there?!"

Edmund gave himself a moment to catch his breath.

"Rhett, grab Amelia and Bridey and run! We're under attack!" Edmund yelled before he felt hot, burning pain coming from his arm. Edmund looked down, and he saw blood running down his bare arm from a gash just above his elbow.

"Where's Desdemona Sheffield?"

Edmund looked up, and he was face-to-face with Heathcliffe Sarutobi of the Capricorn Pirates.

"She's on an errand. I can't tell you the specifics of said errand, since I don't know said specifics," Edmund answered. Heathcliffe dropped his bloodied scythe and grabbed Edmund by the collar of his T-shirt.

"You'd better fucking talk! We almost had to whore ourselves out all because of your fucking theatrics!" Heathcliffe yelled. Edmund responded by kicking at Heathcliffe's thighs, making Heathcliffe drop Edmund. Before Heathcliffe could react, Edmund shoved Heathcliffe back. As Heathcliffe gasped for air, he began to yell.

"Aki! Go inside the ship and find Isabella!" Heathcliffe shouted.

"Who's Isabella?" Edmund asked.

"She's our friend, and she's Sarutobi-kun's grandmother."

A girl then walked onto the deck of the Coachella; she was a very beautiful girl, too – Silky, black hair tied back into a ponytail, blue eyes, and an elegant figure. She wore a black, Mandarin dress patterned with white trim and a pattern of small, pink peonies and black, high-heels.

"And who are you? His girlfriend?" Edmund asked sardonically.

"That's right. My name is Aki Chung-Feng, the girlfriend to Heathcliffe Sarutobi," Aki explained before she walked over to Heathcliffe and hugged him. As the two lovers let go, they kissed.

"Get a room!" Edmund yelled angrily. Heathcliffe and Aki both glared at Edmund.

"Aki… You know what to do, right?" Heathcliffe asked.

"Find Isabella and ruin Desdemona," Aki answered.

"Look, I don't know who Isabella is. You have no business here," Edmund said before Aki pushed him out of the way and hurried down the hall. Heathcliffe then walked over to Edmund and pinned him against the wall.

"Looks like we need to finish what we started," Heathcliffe commented. With a flick of the wrist, Edmund freed one of his hands from Heathcliffe's grasp and used it to punch Heathcliffe hard on the cheek.

"If we're going to finish this, I am going to finish you and your crew," Edmund said darkly.

* * *

Inside, Rhett, Amelia, and Bridey waited for the inevitable – When their attacker would come. Although they didn't know it, the Abingdons would have the upper hand, as it was two-against-four.

A minute spent in dead silence later, the sound of high heels clicking against the wooden floors echoed from down the hall and into the shared kitchen, dining room, and living room. Rhett, Amelia, and Bridey held their breath, hoping whoever it was would pass the room they were currently in. After about two minutes, everything went dead silent again. Rhett, Amelia, and Bridey then breathed a collective sigh of relief; they weren't going to be attacked. Edmund probably found whoever it was and took care of them.

"That was a close one," Rhett commented. "Come on, let's go find Edmund."

As the three began to walk, Aki rushed into the room and pushed Rhett to the ground. Mid-fall, Rhett reached out for his sisters, sending them down to the ground as well.

"What happened?!" Bridey asked. Aki said nothing as she pulled out a sleek-looking, black, paper fan with the design of willow trees on the fan. In each of the folds of the fan were blades, ranging from kurenai daggers to knives.

"Do you know who Desdemona Sheffield is?" Aki asked. Rhett got up and looked Aki in the eye.

"Why is this any of your business?" Rhett asked. Aki then threw Rhett against the nearest wall and held the blades hidden in her fan to his neck.

"Because she ruined us! That bitch ruined us, and she's going to pay!" Aki screeched, causing Bridey and Amelia to cover their ears from the shrill, high-pitched tones of Aki's voice.

"We don't know where Desdemona went. She had to go run an errand, and – like I said – it's none of your business," Rhett explained sternly. Before Aki could move in closer to slit Rhett's throat, Amelia ran up to Aki and tackled her to the ground, causing Aki to drop her fan a few feet away.

"Leave my twin brother alone! He has nothing to do with _**any**_ of this!" Amelia yelled. Aki then grabbed Amelia by the front of her sweater and stood up, causing Amelia to jump up onto her feet and her sweater to rip apart.

"We saw him the night you turned us over to the Dragon Lady," Aki explained. Amelia slapped Aki hard across the face in response.

"You're lying! Rhett had nothing to do with this!" Amelia yelled before Aki grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. "Please, leave us alone! My brothers and sister had nothing to do with Desdemona's plan! Don't hurt them!"

As Aki struggled to pin Amelia against the wall, two objects on the table next to them caught Amelia's eye – One was a black marker, and the other was a small, sharp, steak knife. Amelia then used one hand to push Aki back as she grabbed the marker with her other hand. As Aki got up, Amelia grabbed the knife and threw it into Aki's thigh, sending the Capricorn crashing to the floor.

Before Aki could get up, Amelia pinned Aki's legs down with her knees and grabbed her wrist. Then, Amelia wrote out the word "whore" in big, black letters onto Aki's arm. When Amelia pulled away, Aki could only stare at her arm in horror.

"How… How could you?!" Aki yelled before she began to cry. "You and your friends are such heartless people! You're so arrogant, rude and judgmental!"

"Speak for yourself! You kicked Desdemona off of your crew because she wasn't up to 'your standards', you kidnapped April and almost had her tortured and murdered, you forced Lydia and Richard to do your dirty work while they were with you, and you orchestrated the kidnapping and beating of a Shichibukai!" Amelia yelled. "Because of you, I will forever hold my father, Kartik Abingdon, to a lower standard! He may be a polite gentlemen, but that's only because he ended up as psychotic as you!"

Amelia then got up from the floor, leaving Aki crying on the ground. Rhett and Bridey then ran up to Amelia.

"How are we going to get them off of the ship?" Rhett whispered.

"Edmund's still taking care of Heathcliffe, so we don't know when they'll stop fighting," Bridey added.

"Maybe we should make Aki watch the fight? I don't know," Amelia suggested. "You know, it would weaken their morale, but we aren't that sadistic."

"Also, who the hell is Isabella Sarutobi and what do we have to do with her?" Rhett asked.

"Who?" Bridey and Amelia responded.

"I heard somebody shout something about her to Edmund," Rhett explained. Then, Aki's fan floated into the air and burst into flames, as if it spontaneously combusted. Then, the doors to the refrigerator door opened, and a carton of half-melted ice cream floated out. Amelia, Rhett, and Bridey could only watch in horror as the contents of the ice cream spilled all over Aki. Once Aki had realized what had happened, she stood up in horror.

"My hair! My dress!" Aki shrieked in horror before she ran from the room crying. Amelia, Rhett, and Bridey stood there in shock, scared out of their minds. None of them knew what had just happened, and they didn't want to know what caused this.

"Ta-da! Aki Chung-Feng is the shallowest person I know, so I couldn't resist the part with the ice cream."

A ghost then appeared into the room, further scaring the three Abingdons. She had pink hair that went to just above the center of her back, pink eyes, and wore an all-white outfit – A white bonnet, a white dress, white stockings, and white, Mary Jane shoes.

"Who are you?!" Bridey screamed.

"You may have heard of me – I'm Isabella Sarutobi," Isabella introduced herself. "Have you seen a Desdemona Sheffield anywhere?"

"She had something to do in town," Rhett answered truthfully. "What is it that you want?"

"I need to talk to her. Its important business regarding the Capricorns," Isabella answered.

"You can tell us. We can pass the message on to Desdemona," Amelia offered.

"That won't be necessary, since I am going to travel with you," Isabella explained. "You see, I had enough of all of the Capricorns' bullshit, so I decided to pack my bags and leave. Since my old crew had a history with Desdemona, I need to find her and make amends. She was on this ship, right?"

"Yes. We're taking her to Lougetown to meet up with some friends of hers," Bridey explained.

"Guys, what's going on?"

Edmund staggered into the room, with his shirt in tatters, cuts and bruises all over his arms and face, and a slight limp in his step.

"They fled. The threat is over," Edmund gasped out before he looked up. "Is it me, or do you guys see a ghost?"

"You see a ghost," Isabella answered. "I ate the Borei Borei no mi, and I can turn into a ghost. Because I can die and come back to life whenever the hell I feel like it, I'm immortal. Unless you try and drown me in the ocean, since Devil Fruit users can't swim. Speaking of which, hold that thought."

Isabella then floated out of the room.

"Edmund, are you okay?" Amelia asked.

"Nothing some hydrogen peroxide and some bandages can fix," Edmund said. Amelia said nothing as she walked over to the kitchen island and began to rummage through the drawers.

"You look worse for wear. If I can find the torch Fernando uses to make Crème Brule, I can cauterize your wounds, then have Alto or Andromache take a look at you when either of them back," Amelia pointed out. After a few minutes of searching, Isabella walked onto the ship, in a human body.

"Hi, there!" Isabella greeted the Libras. Amelia jumped up in shock.

"What the hell?!" Amelia cried. Isabella laughed.

"Oh, the pranks I have played with this Devil Fruit," Isabella said. "Anyway, do you guys know where the nearest mall is? This all-white outfit has to go."

"I think there's an outlet mall near the main drag of town," Edmund said.

"Wonderful! Because I also need to get a new sweater for Amelia to replace the one Aki tore off, and I should really get Edmund another T-shirt," Isabella asked, pulling out a large wad of cash from the skirts of her dress. "Man, the Capricorns are so gullible. I told them I was going out to gamble and I needed the money. Little do they know that I just gave them the biggest 'fuck you' of their lives."

* * *

An hour later, Desdemona and Griffin returned to the deserted Coachella.

"I promise, you'll meet everyone else tomorrow," Desdemona said, entering the room. A note then caught her eye. "See? Somebody must have come here."

Desdemona picked up the note, which said the following:

**To whoever finds this,**

**Something happened involving two of the Capricorns, and now we're stuck with a girl who can turn into a ghost. We had to make a quick run to the outlet stores because this girl owes us. We'll explain everything later.**

**- Edmund, Rhett, Amelia, and Bridey**

Desdemona sweatdropped in response to the letter.

"This raises a lot more questions than it does answers…" Desdemona said to herself.

* * *

**"Whore" -** Okay, the part during the Amelia vs. Aki fight where Amelia writes the word "whore" on Aki's arm seemed kind of random, but I'll explain - Because Aki and the rest of the Capricorns were under the custody of the Dragon Lady - who has a large prostitution ring -, they would be forever branded as "prostitutes" and "whores" out of association, even though they never had any sexual activity of any kind during their time spent with the Dragon Lady.

**Borei Borei no mi - **The Ghost-Ghost Fruit. It's a Paramecia Devil Fruit that allows the user to turn into a ghost. Because the user can die and turn into a ghost (and come back to life when they're done being a ghost) at anytime they wish, the user is also immortal (unless they drown, because of the Devil Fruit curse). Also, unlike Perona's Devil Fruit, Isabella doesn't summon ghosts/hollows - She IS the ghost itself.

**Next chapter will be the fallout from Isabella's betrayal of the Capricorns.**


	16. Betrayal

**Author's Note: **Lots of things are going down in this chapter, so I suggest you pay attention.

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. If I did, the Fishman Island Arc would be considerably shortened.**

* * *

"I'm sorry, but your party has already left the restaurant."

Meanwhile, Desdemona and Griffin backtracked to the buffet to try and find everyone else.

"Let me guess – They're going to drop some mad money in the clubs?" Griffin asked.

"No, the Libras aren't like that. The Capricorns, maybe," Desdemona explained.

"Speaking of Capricorns… Hi, you have a visitor from the Capricorn Pirates."

Desdemona and Griffin turned back, and they saw the Abingdon siblings and Isabella. Isabella was now wearing a white, slouched, beanie hat, a light-gray T-shirt, black skinny jeans, and dark-blue, vintage sneakers with white laces. Desdemona remained silent as her hands slowly gravitated toward her retrofitted Geiger counter attached to her belt.

"Look, I don't want any trouble. I just want to talk to you. Honestly," Isabella explained. Desdemona lowered her hands, feeling like she had to surrender to the former Capricorn.

"Go on ahead. If you need me or my siblings, we'll be back at the Coachella," Edmund explained before him, Rhett, Amelia, and Bridey walked away. Griffin, Isabella, and Desdemona remained silent.

"What do you want?" Desdemona asked, trying to suppress memories of that night in the warehouse involving the Kaku Kaku no mi.

"I want to tell you something about the Capricorns," Isabella said. "I've quit sailing with them. It's gotten to their point where their actions are bordering on completely sociopathic. I'm sure you've heard what happened with the Shichibukai Seven Weintraub, right?"

"Yeah. He got stabbed by the Dragon Lady's cronies," Griffin answered.

"That was a cover-up for what really happened," Isabella stated. "The Capricorns were the ones who actually had Seven kidnapped and beaten. Since they were still with the Dragon Lady at the time, they were able to blame the kidnapping and beating on a group of lower-leveled prostitutes. They took the blame, allowing the Capricorns to walk free."

Griffin and Desdemona grew silent.

"Why? Why would they do that?" Griffin asked, no emotion in his voice due to the shock associated with the news.

"Just so they could escape from the Dragon Lady. They're smart people, you know," Isabella explained. "Unfortunately, they are still on this island. However, they are going to leave tomorrow for Lougetown, as they have a hand in the World's Fair of Lougetown."

Griffin clenched his fists in anger. Not only was he lied to about what happened to Seven, but the same crew who hurt his pen-pal.

"Those Capricorn bastards are going down! I'll kill them!" Griffin yelled. Griffin and Desdemona sweatdropped.

"I think we should go back to the Coachella," Desdemona suggested.

* * *

Upon entering the Coachella, Desdemona, Isabella, and Griffin sweatdropped at what they saw – Mason and Stella-Rondo were handcuffed together, Kazura was holding somebody's baby, Miller was shirtless, Fernando and Jin-Mao held a long, submarine sandwich piled high with meats, cheeses, and condiments, Richard was boxing with a kangaroo, Daiyu held a wooden paddle that said "yaoi" on it, Kipton's right arm was in a sling, and Yukari was crying her eyes out.

"What happened?" Desdemona asked slowly.

"Uhh… Stella-Rondo and Mason apparently got married, as far as I know," Kazura answered. "Also, whose baby is this?"

* * *

The next morning, after giving Stella-Rondo and Mason a divorce, returning the baby to his mother, finding another shirt for Miller to wear, cutting up the submarine sandwich and putting it away in the fridge, returning the kangaroo Richard was boxing with, getting Kipton's arm healed, and confronting whoever made Yukari cry, the Party Wagon was finally ready to leave Mandalay City.

"Okay, what happens in Mandalay City stays in Mandalay City, so we shall never speak of what happened again," Ben explained to everyone. An hour later, after the ship left Mandalay Island…

"Do you guys remember the time Mason ended up married to Stella-Rondo?" April asked.

"April, shut up! We agreed to never speak of it again!" Mason yelled. Everybody grew silent.

"So… Lougetown's next, right?" Desdemona asked everyone.

"Of course! We'll get there just in time for the World's Fair of Lougetown!" Miller answered. Griffin gave off an annoyed sigh.

"Great! That means Gaerik is going to be breathing down my fucking neck again!" Griffin yelled. Miller sweatdropped.

"You know my Uncle Gaerik?" Miller asked. "Do you happen to know my cousin, Annalease?"

"Who?" Griffin asked slowly as he began thinking to himself. "_Great! Gaerik got somebody knocked up! Note to self: Sever all ties with the Pratt family. Except Leanne._"

Desdemona laughed nervously.

"Griffin, I think we need to have a long talk about the Libras," Desdemona said nervously.

* * *

On another ship headed to Lougetown, a boy of about sixteen was packing his things. He had dark-blue hair that extended to his jaw, black eyes, an ahoge on top of his head, and rectangular-shaped glasses. Despite his extravagant, wealthy surroundings, the boy's clothes were very plain – A forest-green, long-sleeved T-shirt, blue jeans, and red, high-top sneakers. His motions were quick, almost careless, as if he were in a hurry to pack up and leave everything. A knock on the closed door behind the boy caused him to stop packing.

"Oi, Hatori! Is everything okay?"

"E-Everything's fine, Yuki-Rin!" Hatori stuttered out nervously. "What do you want?"

"Can I please come in?"

"Just a minute!" Hatori yelled, putting his suitcase under the bed. At that moment, the girl named Yuki-Rin entered. Yuki-Rin was a girl of about sixteen or seventeen with wavy, brown hair that reached just past her shoulders and brown eyes. Her outfit was very extravagant and befitting of a pirate of her status – A white, long-sleeved dress shirt under a black waistcoat with gold buttons, black jeans, black combat boots with silver buttons, and a black coat with brown fur on the ends of the sleeves and copper-colored, black, frog clasps as buttons.

"Are you okay? It sounds like you're either sick or depressed," Yuki-Rin asked.

"I'm fine, Yuki-Rin," Hatori answered bluntly.

"Are you sure? We need your strength for the assassination," Yuki-Rin asked.

"Who are we going after again?" Hatori asked.

"'Cheiftain' Zander Leach. With his assassination, we can both get the Dragon Lady off of our backs and rise up further in the world," Yuki-Rin explained.

"…What does Zander Leach have to do with this?" Hatori asked slowly. In truth, Hatori wanted nothing to do with the assassination plans, but he couldn't say it to Yuki-Rin's face for fear of repercussions.

"Because he is the Shichibukai with the weakest influence," Yuki-Rin explained. "If we knock him out, the door is open for me to become Shichibukai and for us to be protected by the World Government. Wouldn't you like to live in comfort, safety, and even luxury?"

Hatori pondered Yuki-Rin's words for a second, before he looked Yuki-Rin right in the eye and punched her in the nose.

"I don't want any of that. I want out of this crew. I want out of all your lies, depravity, and corruption," Hatori explained.

* * *

**"Mason and Stella-Rondo were handcuffed together, Kazura was holding somebody's baby, Miller was shirtless..." - **This entire passage is supposed to represent the whole "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" thing, as Mandalay City is based off of Vegas.

Also, yes, that is a yaoi paddle Daiyu is holding.

**Next chapter will be filled with a lot of fighting.**


	17. Hatori Chidori vs The Capricorn Pirates

**Author's Note: **Hey, everyone, this is the second chapter for this fic within a twenty-four hour period. Basically, what happened was this - Last night, after I had finished posting the previous chapter, I listening to some songs by Muse, and I realized that a lot Muse's songs fit so well with this fic. So, with _Time is Running Out, Map of the Problematique, Hysteria, _and _Uprising _playing on a loop, I typed out this action-packed chapter in a short amount of time.

Also, school ends for the summer for me on Thursday, and I don't go back until mid-August. Expect the usual spam of chapters for **The DysFUNctional Pirates **and more updates to this fic.

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. If I did, The DysFUNctional Pirates would be an "omake theater" at the end of every episode.**

* * *

Before Yuki-Rin could recoil from Hatori's punch, she had already pulled a katana out and pointed it toward Hatori.

"What did I tell you, Hatori? We don't negotiate with rebels within our circle," Yuki-Rin asked. As Yuki-Rin raised her katana, Hatori ducked to the floor and under his bed. With a smooth roll under the bed, Hatori grabbed his suitcase as he rolled out the other side of the bed. In response, Yuki-Rin jumped onto Hatori's bed and sliced through the air. Hatori then lifted his suitcase in a feeble attempt to block Yuki-Rin.

"You're crazy!" Hatori shouted.

"Speak for yourself – You should be honored to be on my crew, but you want to throw it away!" Yuki-Rin yelled before she kicked Hatori in the stomach. Stumbling back, Hatori grabbed onto the windowsill to give himself some leverage. "If you wanted to leave so badly, we should have kicked you out of the crew earlier like that bitch Desdemona Sheffield!"

"Yuki-Rin, Isabella is gone! We can't find her!"

A boy with short, blonde dreadlocks and blue eyes rushed into the room. He wore a formal, black yukata with forest green hakama pants and wooden sandals. A katana was strapped to his side, which meant that Hatori was instantly outnumbered.

"Kazuma, what do you mean by 'Isabella is gone'?" Yuki-Rin asked bluntly.

"She's gone. Her room has been picked clean, and everything in it save for the furniture is gone," Kazuma explained. Yuki-Rin sighed.

"Stay here and don't move," Yuki-Rin ordered to Hatori before she followed Kazuma out of the room. As soon as Yuki-Rin and Kazuma left, Hatori grabbed his suitcase and sprinted from the room. Thankfully, Yuki-Rin and Kazuma were walking in the opposite direction, so Hatori was temporarily safe.

"_God, Yuki-Rin is an idiot. She didn't even lock the door,_" Hatori thought to himself.

"Oi, what's Chidori doing?!"

"He's got a suitcase! Follow him! If he tries to escape, kill the traitor!"

As footsteps echoed in the halls behind him, Hatori quickened his pace. He didn't dare to look back, as he knew several of the Capricorns were giving chase. At that moment, Hatori's thoughts turned to Isabella – Where _**did**_ she go anyway? Like Hatori, she seemed done with the actions of the Capricorns and wanted out.

As Hatori turned a corner, he felt a glimmer of hope – The echoing footsteps receded the further he ran, and this hallway led to the deck, which would lead to his freedom. At that moment, Hatori stopped caring about where he was and where the Capricorns were. Instead, Hatori began to dream about the freedom that lay ahead.

Mid-run, Hatori began to feel a wall of heat in front of him; this heat was so hot, Hatori's glasses began to fog up. Wiping his glasses, Hatori was now able to see where he ended up – Inside of a walk-in incinerator the size and depth of a small, walk-in closet.

"Fuck…" Hatori muttered to himself. Before he could turn around, somebody came from behind and pressed a sharp blade to the front of Hatori's neck.

"You think I'm an idiot for leaving you alone. I'm not an idiot – I heard the commotion and followed you in here."

Hatori turned his head, and he saw the scornful face of Yuki-Rin looking at him. As the temperature slowly began to rise inside of the incinerator, Hatori felt himself begin to pass out from the heat.

"Looks like this is the end…" Hatori said to himself. "Never thought I would die in an incinerator… At least mom, dad, and everyone else isn't watching this…"

* * *

Right before Hatori lost consciousness, the last thing he could feel was something grabbing at his neck and jerking him backwards.

"Why didn't you just leave him in the incinerator to die?"

"Because it's a bit too extreme for the person we're dealing with."

"'Too extreme'? And this came from the captain who almost beat Sheffield to death?"

Hatori opened his eyes, and he was no longer inside the incinerator. Instead, he was standing before his fellow Capricorns, all of whom had their weapons drawn. With the black-and-white, checkered, marble floors, the gold chandelier hanging above him as if were to crash onto him, and the cream-colored walls, Hatori figured out that he was taken to the main entryway.

"I'm guessing this is the part where you torture me in horrific, unspeakable ways until I either die or escape," Hatori said sarcastically. Some of the Capricorns laughed in response to Hatori's comment.

"Your guess is right on the money," Yuki-Rin said, motioning to a long cart with various instruments including – but not limited to - a claw hammer, matches, knives, shards of glass, a whip, and a long, thin, coil of wire. Hatori could only shudder to himself as he thought of what the Capricorns could do with all of this stuff. Then, Hatori pushed all thoughts of torture out of his mind and began thinking of what he could use to escape.

"_There are about fifty to sixty items on this table, all of which could aid me in some sort of escape…_" Hatori thought to himself. As he tried to move his arms around, Hatori noticed that he had some difficulty moving them; he then looked down, and he saw that his wrists were bound with a zip-tie. "_And, all hope of escape is gone._"

"At first, we were going to leave you in the incinerator so you could burn to death, but some people objected to the idea," Wolfgang explained, shooting a glare toward Heathcliffe and Aki as he said "some people". "Then, we were just going to have Yuki-Rin chop off your head, but where would the fun in that be? So, in the end, we decided to straight-up torture you. This will work either way – You either survive the torture session, or you die. Do you understand?"

Hatori gulped as he moved his wrists around in the zip tie, trying to break free. After a minute of struggling, the zip tie came loose and fell to the ground. While rubbing his wrists to ease the pain, Hatori raised his foot in defense of whatever attack could be thrown toward him.

"Come here. I dare you," Hatori said. Heathcliffe said nothing as he walked forward, scythe at the ready.

"As you wish," Heathcliffe said. Hatori ducked to avoid Heathcliffe's scythe and crawled over to the cart, using the top of the cart to pull himself up. He then grabbed three of the knives on the table and threw them into the crowd of Capricorns, setting off a wave of panic and confusion among them.

"Holy fuck! Hatori's trying to kill us!" A man with brown hair and brown eyes cried.

"Then try and kill him back, Enlai! You're on this crew for a reason!" Wolfgang yelled to the brown-haired boy. Enlai then lunged for Hatori, only for Hatori to grab a fire extinguisher and bash Enlai in the chest with it.

"I guess you all didn't consider the fact that it _**is**_ possible for me to escape!" Hatori yelled before he pulled the pin off of the fire extinguisher and began to spray white foam toward the Capricorns. With the Capricorns temporarily blinded, Hatori grabbed a heavy rock from off of the cart and threw it through the nearest window. As the Capricorns recouped, Hatori grabbed more knives from the table and threw them, some of them hitting some of the Capricorns in the shoulders or legs.

"Get back here!" Yuki-Rin shouted as Hatori took a machete from the table and ran toward the window. As he got to the window, Hatori punched the window, making a bigger opening for himself than the rock did. Ignoring the cuts in his hand, Hatori climbed through the window and jumped through it, only for Yuki-Rin to lean out of the window and grab Hatori by the ankles, causing him to drop the machete into the water.

"Now, did you really think you could do that?"

Hatori looked up to Yuki-Rin. Here we was, with a bleeding hand and dizziness settling in from the blood rushing to his head, and he was on the verge between "possibly drowning" and "getting brutally tortured". He had to make a choice, and both ended in possible death. However, the first choice seemed safer, and it had a higher chance of Hatori surviving.

Slowly, Hatori then began to untie his right shoe. If he wanted to escape the Capricorn Pirates, better to do it like this.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Yuki-Rin yelled.

"My shoelace was untied," Hatori answered in all seriousness. When both of his shoes were untied, Hatori was able to wriggle his way out of them, causing Yuki-Rin to lose her grip on Hatori and him to fall into the ocean.

"Damn it, Chidori! You're damn clever!" Yuki-Rin shouted as Hatori fell into the ocean. After a moment underwater, Hatori resurfaced and began to swim away from the Hyperion. Ignoring the stinging coming from his cut hand and the freezing temperatures, Hatori continued to swim for his life, with the moon being his only light.

"_I made it… I'm free…_" Hatori thought to himself. After that, the rest of the night became a blur to Hatori.

* * *

The next thing Hatori knew, it was morning, and he was in a small bedroom. Immediately, Hatori panicked, worried that the Capricorns fished him up and locked him in one of their unused rooms.

"Good morning, sleepyhead! Did you get a good night's sleep?!"

A group consisting of a happy-looking girl with boy-short, black hair, a blonde-haired girl, a handsome, blonde-haired guy, and a dirty-blonde-haired boy in a flannel shirt entered the room.

"Where am I?" Hatori asked. Immediately, Hatori then began to mentally berate himself for asking where he was, as it would've only led to more trouble.

"You're on my ship, the Argonaut! My name is Eta Goodwin! What's your name, friend?!" The black-haired girl asked, her voice sounding chirpy and squeaky.

"Hatori Chidori," Hatori answered.

"Nice to meet you, Hatori!" Eta yelled. "These are my friends – Ecru Heath, Peter Kearsage-Hilton, and Gaerik Pratt! We'll all here for the World's Fair of Lougetown. Are you?"

Hatori sighed.

"So… We're in Lougetown right now?" Hatori asked.

"Yep!" Eta said. "You can stay with us if you want, Mr. Chidori! You can even come with us when we're done here!"

Hatori smiled.

"Thanks, Eta. I will come with you," Hatori said. "In fact, I need to stay with you after the festival. I can't go back to my old crew."

* * *

**The incinerator - **The part where Hatori was in the incinerator was based off of a scene from the show Hannibal. Watch that show at your own risk since it is pretty disturbing.

**"Mom, dad, and everyone else..." - **Hatori has about six or seven siblings back in his hometown, so that's who he is referring to when he says "everyone else".

**The zip-tie scene - **The way Hatori escapes from being tied up with a zip-tie is an actual way to free oneself from a zip-tie. Spread this information around, since it can save people.

**Hatori's machete - **Unfortunately, Hatori lost it when he was trying to swim away from the Hyperion, so he doesn't have it.

**Are you guys ready for the next chapter? Well... Everybody finally arrives in Lougetown the next chapter!**


	18. The World's Fair of Lougetown

**Author's Note: **Fact - "Average One Piece fanfiction writer writes fifteen chapters before writing the Lougetown chapter." Factoid actually statistical era. Oxenstierna D. Yuki-Rin, who has a lot of One Piece OCs and writes nineteen chapters before the Lougetown chapter, is an outlier and should not have been counted.

Sorry, but I kind of wanted to do that meme in honor of reaching the Lougetown chapters! I'd like to extend a special thanks to **Walkman355 **for giving me Strauss D. Cooro to use during this arc and future arcs as well.

Without further ado, I declare the World's Fair of Lougetown open!

**Disclaimer: Eichiiro Oda owns One Piece and Walkman355 owns Cooro. If I owned One Piece, 4Kids would have never touched the anime.**

* * *

In Lougetown, the day finally came – The opening of the World's Fair of Lougetown. The weather couldn't be better, with sunny skies and temperatures in the high sixties to low seventies, a perfect day to open the fair.

"…'Carnival rides, several, local vendors, catering from the world's top restaurants, live music, and over a hundred exhibits are just some of the many wonders that will bring fair goers into Lougetown from now until the end of the Christmas holidays'," Ben read from the paper. Currently, the Libras were having a big breakfast/brunch to celebrate the opening of the World's Fair of Lougetown, and as sort of a 'good-bye' to Lydia, Richard, April, Ben, Andromache, Desdemona, Griffin, Enoch, Arrowe, Eliezer, and Isabella, as they were going to sail with different people after Lougetown.

"That's almost seven months! I won't have time to see everything!" Griffin cried.

"Of course, you wouldn't," Ben pointed out. "There are going to be many pavilions, conventions, panels, shows, and lectures, ranging from science to anime."

"Science?!" Desdemona yelled.

"Anime?!" Jin-Mao yelled.

"We're in!" Desdemona and Jin-Mao yelled. Everyone else sweatdropped.

"So… What time should we head out?" Rhett asked in an attempt to decrease the level of awkwardness in the room.

* * *

By noon, a huge crowd gathered outside the festival gates of the World's Fair of Lougetown, eagerly waiting to get in. The people in the crowd came from all over the world to see this fair, and they didn't want to be disappointed. Pirates, Marines, Revolutionaries, Fishmen, and even a World Noble or two were all waiting for the festival to start, and they wanted to have a great time.

"Weintraub, if you mess this up for me, I will mess you up. Do not embarrass me," The Dragon Lady explained to Seven, who just sighed in response.

"Yes, your highness," Seven replied sarcastically. A foot away, the Pratt siblings and the Calamity Griffin crew were waiting to get in.

"Calamity, are you sure it was a good idea for us to do special episodes of The Calamity Griffin Show at this festival?" Aimee asked Calamity.

"It won't be a problem, guys. Seven is out of the hospital and he's here with us, so Griffin probably turned up," Calamity explained. "Besides, we can't back out. We're already booked."

Leanne, Esri, Aimee, and Marcello glared at Calamity.

"Find Griffin, or there will be no Calamity Griffin at this festival," Leanne said through clenched teeth. Right in front of the Calamity Griffin crew, Hettienne and Matilda waited patiently for the festival to open.

"This is it. We made it," Hettienne said to herself.

"So, what do you want to see?" Matilda asked.

"I'd love to see the Shipwrighting Pavilion," Hettienne answered.

"Perfect! We could split up and meet at the North Food Pavilion for lunch – You can go to the Shipwrighting Pavilion, and I can go to the World Revolutionaries' Summit!" Matilda said. A few feet away, Eta, Peter, Gaerik, Ecru, and Hatori were making their own plans.

"This is going to be so awesome!" Eta yelled, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. Peter chuckled as he ruffled Eta's hair.

"Slow down, Eta. You'll tire yourself out early," Peter explained.

"I don't care! I've been up since five-thirty in the morning because I've been so darn excited!" Eta yelled. Behind Eta and her group, the Eagle Islanders were making their own plans.

"So, I was thinking that we could all split up and take the various quadrants of the festival individually," Ben stated. "Lydia and I will cover the North Quadrant, Richard will cover the South Quadrant, April will cover the East Quadrant, and Andromache will cover the West Quadrant, like we went over. Do I make myself clear?"

"When do we meet back for lunch?" Lydia asked.

"I'd say we meet up at three o'clock in the East Food Pavilion," Ben answered. Several yards away…

"You all know what to do and where to go, right?" Yuki-Rin asked her crew.

"Yes, Yuki-Rin," The Capricorns answered.

"Also, I want everyone back at the Hyperion at six so we can shower and get ready for the Opening Day garden party at eight," Yuki-Rin explained. "Its invitation only, but I think we can get in just fine."

Right next to the Capricorns, the Libras were going over their own plans.

"You all know what to do and where to go, right?" Kazura asked his nakama. The Libras nodded. "Perfect! If anything happens, go back to the Coachella and wait for one of us."

"How do you know if something bad happens to one of us?" Mason asked. Kazura sighed.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Kazura said. Toward the front of the crowd, Isabella, Arrowe, Eliezer, and Enoch were looking over a map of the festival.

"Holy shit, this is one big festival," Arrowe commented.

"Clearly, you haven't attended a gypsy gathering," Eliezer pointed out. Next to them, Desdemon and Griffin were planning out their own day.

"I want to go to the Engineering Pavilion first, then I want to go to the Science Lab, then I want to go to the Hall of Mathematics and Numbers, then I want to go to the World's Fair Aquarium, then I want to go to –" Desdemona said before Griffin cut her off.

"Woah, slow down, Des! Maybe we should split up for a while and see how things go?" Griffin suggested. "Because I want to go to the World's Fair Casino – since Seven is sponsoring it for the first few days of the fair - which is in the West Quadrant and all of the stuff you want to do is in the East Quadrant."

"Fair enough. Where do you want to meet up?" Desdemona asked.

"Why don't we meet at Lougetown Palace? It's at the center of the entire fair," Griffin suggested.

"Alright, Lougetown Palace it is," Desdemona said before cheering erupted all around her.

"I declare the World's Fair of Lougetown open! Many wonders of the world await – Pony rides! Prostitutes from Skypeia! Science and technology! The hottest fashions from world-renowned designers! Fun and games! It's all here at the World's Fair of Lougetown!"

The crowd then filed their way through the ticket turnstiles and into a very large, sprawling park. This was not like other parks – Buildings in varying architectural styles, from Japanese pagodas to log cabins, were scattered about, with booths, food carts, amusement rides, and signs filling the spaces in between the buildings. In the distance, a large castle sat right in the middle of the festival, serving as a great meeting point for many groups who planned to split off during the festival.

Many people went into the festival knowing that it was going to be a memorable experience. However, for certain people and factions, this festival was going to be memorable for all the right – and wrong – reasons.

* * *

In the South Quadrant, both Richard and Eta found herself at a music tent, listening to a rock band perform for a medium-sized audience. The audience was much larger earlier in the performance, but the band was currently playing their last song.

"…_You think you found love, but you're standing in The Pit_!" The lead singer and guitarist – a man of about twenty with light-brown hair and a slight paunch to him – sang into the microphone as a brown-haired, middle aged man played the drums, a girl with long, cherry-red hair played a bass guitar, and a teenaged boy with wavy, blonde hair played a keyboard. As the closing notes of the song played, the audience cheered. "Thank you, Lougetown! I'm Andrew D'Arc on lead vocals and guitar, Gidget Flanders on bass guitar, Salieri Baltres on keyboard, and Cristo Takizawa on drums! Together, we are Scarecrow Anchor! Enjoy the rest of your day, everybody!"

As the audience erupted into more cheering, Eta turned around and began to walk out of the tent, eager to see more of the festival. However, a huge line greeted her on the way out of the tent.

"What's going on?" Eta asked the person in front of her, a black-haired boy with a headband decorated with eagle feathers. He wore a sleeveless jacket that reached his ankles, a set of trousers held up by a sword belt and sash, sandals, a necklace of a bear's claw, a clay medallion, and a crow's feather, an armband on his left arm with tribal markings, and tribal wristbands.

"There's something going on with the Shichibukai," The boy answered. "I don't know what it is, but it sounds like autograph sessions."

"That doesn't sound like a lot of fun," Eta pointed out. "Isn't there some big announcement they're going to do?!"

"I don't know. I don't really follow the news unless it concerns my crew," The boy explained. Eta gasped in amazement.

"You're a pirate?! Sugoi!" Eta yelled. "My name is Eta Goodwin! What's your name?!"

The boy put his hand out, letting Eta shake it.

"The name's Strauss D. Cooro. I'm trying to perfect my Crow Sword Style," The boy – Cooro – introduced himself.

"You have a sword style, too?!" Eta asked. "Sorry, I don't mean to get so excited. It's my first time in Lougetown, and I'm about to become a pirate, and everything about pirates is so cool!"

"I can tell you a few things right now. Where are you going?" Cooro asked.

"I want to see that Shichibukai thing!" Eta answered. Cooro sighed.

"Alright. Shichibukai thing it is," Cooro said.

* * *

Back in the music tent, the band Scarecrow Anchor was packing up the instruments.

"Andrew, as your oldest friend… Why do you want to do this?" Christo asked.

"Because rock stars are awesome," Andrew answered.

"But, the name 'Scarecrow Anchor'. Why that name?" Gidget asked. Andrew sighed, preparing to tell a long story or at least name-drop a lot of people or bands.

"The band I've wanted to form has had a few names over the past couple of years," Andrew explained to Gidget. "When we started out, we were Panda Dolly Suicide, but then we changed it to The Rat and the Mouse. Then we were Oda-sensei Hates Figs, Department of World Government Obscurity, Flames and Flames, Muscular Confusion, Nothing Rhymes With 'Silver', then Everything Rhymes With 'Silver', Crotch Kick Champions, Rad Pirate Ship, Puppy Pendulum, Possum Pendulum, Pirate Pendulum, Railgun Suicide, Angel's Snack, Just the Nub, Fawnskin…"

Andrew grew silent, trying to think of other names his band once had.

"Oh, yeah! We were Jet 'Black Leg' Sanji. We went back to The Rat and the Mouse, and now we're Scarecrow Anchor. God, when I hear myself say 'Scarecrow Anchor' out loud, I kind of hate it."

Gidget sweatdropped.

"Just so you know, I hate all of those names," Gidget pointed out.

"Get used to it," Andrew said bluntly.

"Andrew, Christo! What are you doing here?!"

Richard then entered the tent, causing Andrew to cheer loudly.

"Richard Sakamoto! Long time no see, buddy!" Christo said, patting Richard on the back.

"Don't touch me," Richard said bluntly. Christo silently took his hand of of Richard's back.

"Dude! What are you doing here?!" Andrew cried.

"I came here with Lydia, Ben, April, and Andromache. We've been looking for you," Richard explained. "Have you heard from Thom or Marcello yet?"

"We haven't," Christo answered. "Wait – Everybody else is here?"

"They're here," Richard answered. "The Eagle Island Pirates are back in business."

* * *

On the main thoroughfare through the fair, Eta and Cooro were walking to wherever the Shichibukai's event was. However, Eta stopped when she saw three figures approaching each other – One from the north, one from the east, and one from the west. Eta turned to Cooro.

"I'll be right back. Looks like trouble's a brewing, or something's going to happen," Eta said before she began to jog over to the three. At the intersection of the four walkways, the four figures had stopped – Eta Goodwin, Hettienne Leung, Griffin Gethard, and Desdemona Sheffield were about to meet in-person for the first time, and none of them knew it at that moment. As the four of them waited to see who would go on and pass the group first, Eta spoke up.

"No way! Griffin Gethard is doing a show?!"

* * *

**World's Fair of Lougetown - **The World's Fair of Lougetown is inspired by the World's Fairs of Chicago, St. Louis, and New York City in terms of size of the festival and how long it runs.

**The Pit Song - **The song Scarecrow Anchor performs is _The Pit _from Parks and Recreation, which I don't own.

**Scarecrow Anchor/Andrew's other band names - **Another reference to Parks and Recreation. Look up "Parks and Rec band names" on Youtube and listen to the video's audio as you read Andrew's list of band names.

Before we end the chapter, I have an announcement to make. When the Lougetown chapters are done, there will be a surprise chapter in the chapter after the events in Lougetown end. I'm not saying what it's going to be about, but consider it an OVA to the series.

**Well, we left the chapter off on a cliffhanger, so... Review! Our heroes finally met each other!**


	19. Meet the Pen-Pals

**Author's Note: **And now, the moment you've all been waiting for - Eta, Desdemona, Hettienne, and Griffin meet for the first time! (Well, Desdemona already met Griffin, so there's that.)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cooro and I don't own One Piece. If I owned One Piece, the Libras would be allies to the Straw Hats.**

* * *

"No way! Griffin Gethard is doing a show?!"

Griffin laughed nervously.

"You must be either Hettienne Leung, Eta Goodwin, somebody I used to know, or a crazed fan," Griffin stated to Eta.

"That's me! I'm Eta!" Eta answered. Then, something very important dawned on her. "Wait a second… I met you a few days ago! You gave me a note to give to Gaerik!"

"I did?" Griffin asked. Then, he remembered something.

"_Hey, you! If you see my friends, give this to them_!"

"Oh, yeah! Is Gaerik still here?" Griffin asked Eta.

"Of course!" Eta answered. Griffin screamed and began to pull at his hair, causing Desdemona and Hettienne to sweatdrop.

"Hettienne Leung," Hettienne introduced herself.

"Desdemona Sheffield," Desdemona introduced herself. "I actually met Griffin a few days back, too. One of his friends is a Shichibukai."

Eta then ran back to Cooro.

"Hey, I'll meet up with you later. I have some other things I need to take care of," Eta explained quickly.

"I don't mind. Just do what needs to be done," Cooro said with a shrug.

* * *

After a lot of running around the festival to find their own nakama that traveled with them to be here on this day, Eta Goodwin, Desdemona Sheffield, Hettienne Leung, Griffin Gethard, Matilda Proteus, Enoch Takeshima, Arrowe Benton, Eliezer Ciumak, Isabella Sarutobi, Peter Kearsarge-Hilton, Ecru Heath, and Gaerik Pratt arrived at a large ship with light wood and two decks.

"Welcome to the Argonaut, everyone! This is the ship we're going to be sailing on!" Eta said to everyone. "We're waiting on one more person, and then we can get to know everybody!"

Hatori then ran up to everybody.

"Sorry I'm late, Eta. That festival is crowded," Hatori explained before he noticed a familiar face in the group. "Isabella?! What are you doing here?!"

"Apparently, I am going to join these people and go to the Grand Line with them," Isabella answered. "And you? Are you coming with us or are you going back to the Capricorns?"

"Actually, I'm going with you, and I have good reason to," Hatori explained.

"_This kid was a Capricorn?_" Desdemona thought to herself as everyone huddled around Hatori. "_I guess he replaced me after I got kicked out of the crew_."

"The Capricorns are planning to assassinate one of the Shichibukai, 'Chieftain' Zander Leach. They plan on doing it tonight at the Opening Day garden party. We need to stop them," Hatori explained.

"How are we going to do that? We didn't get invited to the party, and we'll be found out if we crashed it," Matilda asked.

"There's supposed to be an event with the Shichibukai starting in a half-hour. Although he's not involved with the event, Zander Leach is supposed to attend as a spectator," Arrowe explained. "If we leave now, we can probably catch him."

* * *

A half-hour of running later, the group arrived at the Shichibukai's event at the World's Fair of Lougetown, which drew a huge crowd. Seven, Remy, and the Dragon Lady were already on stage, waiting for Coby so the event could start.

"Hi, Seven!" Griffin yelled from the crowd. Hettiernne slapped Griffin.

"Be quiet! This is serious!" Hettienne whispered to Griffin. The audio feedback from the microphone then got everybody's attention, causing them to turn to the main stage.

"Good afternoon," Coby said to the crowd. "As you may or may not know, the Shichibukai may increase from seven members to twelve members. In order to ensure that this transition will go as planned and as smoothly as possible, we have decided to take a high-profile, wealthy, crew under our wing for a trial period. Without further ado, we would like to present our crew, the Capricorn Pirates!"

As the Capricorns came up in stage, dressed in their finest, formal wear, the Eagle Islanders, Libras, Calamity Griffin Crew, Pratt brothers, Gidget, Salieri, and Eta and her group remained silent, refusing to applaud for the Shichibukai's new lapdogs.

"Wow… They're all attractive to some degree," Andrew commented to himself. "I think this is making me question my sexuality."

"This is wrong on so many levels!" Leanne yelled. "The Shichibukai can't do this! I'm sure there's some sort of law against it!"

"Sis, the Shichibukai break all of the laws," Sparrow said in a deadpan tone of voice.

"Sparrow, you're only fourteen. They don't teach kids about the World Government until they're sixteen," Leanne retorted.

"They taught us about the World Government when I was twelve," Halle pointed out.

"Halle, we all went to the same schools. I never learned about the World Government until I was sixteen," Leanne argued.

"I had that one, really progressive teacher that eventually got executed by the Tenryuubito," Halle explained. "Man, do I miss getting gold stars in that class."

The Libras then began to leave the area.

"Where are we going?" Yukari asked her nakama.

"We're leaving, Yukari. This is a farce," Kazura explained.

"Mom never told me that she was a Shichibukai-in-training," Yukari pointed out.

"Neither did dad, and it pisses me off that they're hiding things from us," Kazura explained. "I hope one day that this spectacularly backfires on them and they get what they deserved."

"Seconded," The rest of the Libras answered in unison.

* * *

Meanwhile, Eta and her crew decided to stop for ice cream at an ice cream parlor inside of the fair.

"Okay, so what is the name of our crew going to be?" Eta asked.

"The Calamity Griffin Pirates," Griffin suggested.

"Calamity isn't even with you," Gaerik pointed out.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Pratt," Griffin argued.

"How about the Virgo Pirates?" Desdemona suggested. "Because a lot of us want the Capricorns to end up ruined, and we also are friends with the Libras, so it's both a suggestion of goodwill toward the Libras and a big 'fuck you' to the Capricorns."

"I like it! Virgo Pirates it is!" Eta yelled. Before anybody could object, somebody entered the ice cream parlor, and everyone but the Virgos stood up. A second later, Matilda and Arrowe took the hint and stood up as well.

"What's going on?" Hatori asked nervously.

"'Chieftain' Zander Leach just came in. He has a really bad temper, so we have to be on his good side," Matilda explained as Zander approached their table. Out of fear and respect, the rest of the Virgos stood up.

"I saw your defiance at the Shichibukai's announcement," Zander stated.

"What defiance?" Ecru asked.

"You refused to applaud the new lapdogs the Marines hired. I like that," Zander explained. "Mind if I join you?"

"If it's not any trouble, Mr. Leach," Hettienne said, pulling out a chair for Zander since she was the closest. Zander then sat down, with the rest of the Virgos following suit.

"Actually, Mr. Leach –" Hatori stated.

"Please, call me 'Zander'. 'Mr. Leach' is too formal, and I despise the nickname 'Zan'," Zander explained.

"Well, anyway, we need to have a serious talk," Hatori said. "Whatever you do, DO NOT go to the Opening Day garden party tonight. There are people there who are planning to storm the party and assassinate you there."

In response, Zander let out a loud, hearty laugh.

"I get that all the time, kid," Zander said to Hatori.

"I'm serious," Hatori said. "My old crew, the Capricorn Pirates, want to kill you so they can have more power, wealth, and influence in the world. By taking out what they see as the 'weakest' Shichibukai, they'll be using you."

Zander grew silent.

"Is this the same crew the Shichibukai have taken under their wing?" Zander asked.

"It is," Desdemona answered. "I suggest that you leave Lougetown immediately and leave no trace of your whereabouts. You need to go somewhere with a heavy, Marine presence, since the Capricorns will probably find you and kill you if you escape. I'd say that you should leave as early as tonight."

"Tonight?!" Zander asked. "I was supposed to be here all week for the Shandoran Exhibition!"

Desdemona then looked Zander straight into the eye. It was one thing for Desdemona to openly plot revenge and justice toward a powerful crew, but it was another thing to stare a Shichibukai down and argue with them.

"The Shandoran Exhibition doesn't matter at this point. Your life matters more right now," Desdemona explained.

* * *

**No footnotes this time, but the Virgo Pirates are now official...**

**However, everything is going to go to Hell in the next chapter.**


	20. Libras vs Capricorns!

**Author's Note: **You may need to break out the tissues for the end of the chapter, just saying.

Also, you'll see what happened to Zander at the end of all of this stuff in Lougetown. He got out of Lougetown, and he's with another faction.

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. If I did, the entire chapter/arc with Gaimon would be cut.**

* * *

Later that night, the Opening Day garden party was in full swing. Many dignitaries from around the world dressed up and congregated on the Lougetown Botanical Gardens for a night of dancing and drinks. It was a formal, elegant night, until chaos rang out among the crowd.

"Everybody, remain calm! We are evacuating the botanical gardens as we speak! Remain calm!"

As the Capricorns left the party, they looked back to their unintentional target – Trafalgar Wilco. He may not have been a Shichibukai, but he was the great-grandson to the Supernova-turned-Shichibukai Trafalgar Law. The Capricorns didn't mind that they killed the wrong person or poisoned the wrong drink – Wilco and his twin, Bodie, were massive threats anyway.

* * *

The next day, the headlines all around Lougetown said the exact same thing, or some variant on it –

**Trafalgar Wilco, great-grandson to former Shichibukai, killed at a garden party!**

"Well, I feel that this is the right time to blame the Capricorns for this," Hatori stated as the Virgos read the paper, trying to piece together the fragments of Wilco's story.

"It is the right time to blame the Capricorns," Enoch stated. "I'm ashamed that Matsu got involved with it, really."

"Younger sister or not, Matsu is still with these murders," Eliezer pointed out.

"Eliezer's right, Enoch. Sooner or later, you have to stop sticking up for your sister for what she does," Arrowe explained bluntly. Enoch slammed his fists on the table.

"She's my sister! I have every right to be protective of her, Goddamnit!" Enoch yelled before he stormed out of the room. The Virgos grew silent.

"Can't we just have a fun day at the World's Fair of Lougetown without running into drama?" Ecru asked everyone.

* * *

That night, the Libras went out for dinner at a hipster-ish, Chinese restaurant in town. As most of the people were still at the fair, the restaurant was empty, save for the Libras and a brown-haired man in a suit.

"I'm done with my parents," Kazura stated to his nakama. "Not only have they lied about who they are, but they went as far as to kill an innocent person just because they spiked the wrong drink with poison."

"You should disown them when we get back home," Stella-Rondo offered. "I'll let you guys live with me and my Uncle Nash, since he never knew any of the Capricorns."

"I'd like to take Stella-Rondo's offer up," Edmund said, raising his hand.

"Same here. Dad was a crazy sociopath, and mom is the reason why we're all twenty years in the past," Locke explained. "I don't think some of us are even allowed to exist yet. Hell, I don't think I was conceived yet."

"But everything in this year is so cheap," Edmund pointed out. "Five Beri for a movie ticket vs. ten Beri? Sign me up."

As the dinner progressed, Edmund felt himself grow tired, as if his brain fogged up.

"Is it me, or am I super-tired right now?" Jin-Mao asked everyone, his voice slurred.

"I'm tired, too," Yukari said, her voice also sounding slurred. "I think we need to head back to the ship. It's getting late."

Suddenly, Yukari then fell asleep. As if they were controlled by a greater force, many of the Libras then fell asleep.

"Did somebody… Drug our drinks?" Miller asked before he laid his head onto the table and fell asleep. Before the rest of the Libras fell asleep, they heard the brown-haired man speak to somebody through a DenDen Mushi.

"Yuki-Rin, this is Blaise. We got them."

* * *

When the Libras regained consciousness, they were standing in an isolated field far from the city.

"Where are we?" Kazura asked everyone.

"I think the guy from the restaurant drugged us and took us here," Amelia said. "I heard him say something to the effect of 'we got the Libras' before I passed out."

"But, why would they take us here?" Kipton asked.

"It's easy – The Capricorns are probably behind this, and they want to kill us," Edmund answered. His nakama screamed. Jin-Mao then put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, getting his friends' attention.

"Okay, guys, we have an emergency! Due to the severity of the situation, we have to use code names!" Jin-Mao announced to the Libras. "You shall address me as 'Eagle One'. Aurelia, you're 'Been There, Done That'. Daiyu is 'Currently Doing That'. Stella-Rondo is 'It Happened Once in a Dream'. Miller is 'If I Had to Pick a Dude'. And, Mason, you are 'Eagle Two'."

"Oh, thank God," Mason said under his breath.

"What about the rest of us? You know, those people who DIDN'T get code names," Kazura asked.

"You're going to be our subordinates!" Mason and Jin-Mao said.

"Oh, and by the way, Fernando is 'Eagle Three'," Jin-Mao added.

"Fuck you!" Aleksandar yelled.

"Glad to know you're all awake and that you've had your beauty sleep."

The Capricorns approached the Libras, all holding weapons.

"It wasn't 'beauty sleep'. It was 'you drugged our drinks at the restaurant'," Kazura explained bluntly. "There is a difference, so don't bother arguing me on this."

Kazuma smirked.

"But still, it was concentrated sleep medication. Its primary use is for insomniacs, but it's better known as a drug kidnappers use to drug their targets and take them away while they're in a dazed state," Kazuma explained. "We swear by this drug for our kidnappings, robberies, and assassinations."

Kazura stepped forward.

"You really are a piece of work," Kazura said. In response, Kazuma punched Kazura, who ducked.

"And you're just hipster trash! We see through your goody-two-shoes act! You want to ruin us!" Heathcliffe screamed.

"Your point is moot!" Edmund screamed back. "Why did you drug us and drag us here?!"

"To kill each and every single one of you," Yuki-Rin answered. "You're the ones who ratted us out about our plans to kill 'Chieftain' Zander Leach!"

"What plans?" Miller asked, grabbing his hatchet. "We never even heard of this plan to assassinate a Shichibukai until just now."

"Don't play the innocent angle, lumberjack! We know you ratted us out!" Heathcliffe yelled, pressing the blade of his scythe to Miller's neck. Miller grabbed Heathcliffe's wrist and threw him to the ground. Before Miller or Heathcliffe could react, Edmund pulled out his sword and pointed it over Heathcliffe's chest.

"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get. Mess with Miller Pratt, and you mess with Edmund Abingdon," Edmund said darkly. Heathcliffe then sprung up and punched Edmund in the face, sending Edmund stumbling back into Miller.

"It's your death wish," Heathcliffe said before Edmund rushed at Heathcliffe and tackled him to the ground. Following Edmund's lead, the Libras then rushed out at the Capricorns, hacking, slicing, and stabbing with everything from pitchforks to water pipes to even a harpoon gun to defend themselves and their friends. No matter how many hits the Libras got, it always seemed like the Capricorns retaliated with twice the hits.

A couple of minutes later, the fight had died down; Jin-Mao was the only Libra left standing, while the Capricorns had all of their members ready and willing to fight.

"Given up, dweeb?" Heathcliffe asked Jin-Mao, who tightened his grip on a dagger he had. "You're probably thinking of running away like a little baby because all of your friends are dead."

Jin-Mao's grip on the dagger tightened as Heathcliffe continued to speak, his words hanging in the air like acid.

"You know what? After each and every single one of your friends die, you'll die. It's the circle of life, buddy, so get used to it," Heathcliffe explained.

"Bully…" Jin-Mao stuttered out, his voice barely a whisper.

"What? What did you say?" Heathcliffe asked. Jin-Mao silently walked up to Heathcliffe and stabbed him in the abdomen.

"I said 'bully', because that is what you are, among other things!" Jin-Mao yelled, removing the dagger and throwing it into Hana's shoulder. "If I die in this field, I am going to die protecting my best friends!"

"Be my guest," Heathcliffe said, no emotion in his voice. With a war cry that sounded more like a scream of anguish, Jin-Mao picked up a spear lying next to Nigel and threw it into the crowd of Capricorns, spearing Enlai in the stomach. As the Capricorns readied their own weapons, Jin-Mao then grabbed a crossbow from Daruma's hands and shot the last remaining arrow loaded in the bow, grazing Heathcliffe's neck and hitting Aki in the shoulder.

"How the fuck is this kid beating us?!" Wolfgang cried before Jin-Mao rushed at him with a pickaxe and stabbed Wolfgang in the stomach with it.

"We need to retreat for the safety of everyone!" An elegant-looking man with purple hair and glasses cried. Jin-Mao then approached him, Edmund's sword in hand.

"You're the famous shipwright, Kartik Abingdon, right?" Jin-Mao asked.

"That is me. May I be of assistance?" Kartik introduced himself, keeping an air of sophistication and calm among the mass chaos. Jin-Mao responded by slicing Kartik's side.

"That was for Edmund, Rhett, Amelia, and Bridey Abingdon! That was for my friends!" Jin-Mao shouted before he threw Edmund's sword to the side and picked up Kazura's pitchfork.

"Capricorns, scatter! We can't keep up with this guy!" Yuki-Rin yelled before the Capricorns ran for their lives. As the Capricorns ran off, Jin-Mao was unaware of the people who witnessed the fight.

"Hey, Jin-Mao! Is everything okay?!"

Eta, Desdemona, Grffin, and Hettienne approached the field, a horrific sight greeting them – All of the Libras but Jin-Mao were lying on the ground, propped up against a rock or another Libra, or – in Miller's case – tied to trees, all in various stages of injury. In the center of the carnage stood Jin-Mao, still breathing heavily and holding Kazura's pitchfork.

"Jin-Mao! What happened?!" Desdemona cried, running up to Jin-Mao.

"The Capricorns… They kidnapped us and took us to this field… We tried to fight them off, but everyone got hurt… I had to drive them off…" Jin-Mao said in-between breaths before he let out a loud, piercing scream. Desdemona turned back to her three pen-pals.

"Get them to the hospital," Desdemona requested.

"Why can't we bring them to Andromache? She's a doctor," Griffin asked.

"Because this is too much work for one person to handle, and I don't want to deal with the Capricorns again tonight!" Desdemona yelled.

"What about Jin-Mao?" Hettienne asked.

"I'm taking him back to the Argonaut for now! It's too dangerous for him to be on his own ship!" Desdemona yelled. "I'm not even going to bother taking him to the Pawnee Commons because then the Capricorns will know that the Eagle Islanders are keeping Jin-Mao hidden."

Desdemona then turned to Jin-Mao, who was sobbing and leaning over Daiyu, who had been knocked unconscious by Kazuma.

"Hey, buddy. It's going to be okay. We're getting everyone to safety," Desdeamona said to Jin-Mao, who wiped his tears and stood up.

"Whatever it takes, I will make the Capricorns' lives a living Hell," Jin-Mao said. "Tonight, I have seen a spear get run through Amelia, Miller almost get tortured by Heathcliffe Sarutobi, and Kazura almost disembowel his own father, among other things. It's time the Capricorns paid the piper for everything they have done and will continue to do."

"What about Zander? He's in a tough situation right now, and he's the reason why we're all in this mess," Desdemona asked.

"We can't kill him, since I don't want any of us to take the fall for it," Jin-Mao explained. "However, I do have another idea. We'll have to wait until tomorrow, since now is not the time."

* * *

**Trafalgar Wilco and Trafalgar Bodie - **They are going to be very important later on in the story.

**The code names - **Yet another reference to the show Parks and Recreation. Jin-Mao's code name for Stella-Rondo, "It Happened Once in a Dream" is also kind of a reference to the chapter "Happy Birthday, Yukari" in **The DysFUNctional Pirates **where Jin-Mao and Stella-Rondo get married in a dream Edmund has.

**Pawnee Commons - **It's the name of the Eagle Islanders' ship and - surprise, surprise - a reference to Parks and Rec.

**Well, I kept my word - Everything in Lougetown has gone to Hell. Before we finish things up in Lougetown, expect more fights, more feels involving the Libras, and... Well, one of the Virgos is kind-of sort-of going to defect from the crew. Can't say who it is and where they go because it's massive spoilers.**


	21. Dog Days Are Over

**Author's Note: **Another chapter tonight, since we're wrapping up things in Lougetown. Our next chapter is going to be the OVA episode, so stay tuned for that!

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. If I did, the fandom would be much bigger.**

* * *

Jin-Mao never liked hospitals. The fact that all of his friends were currently in the hospital and their lives were on the line made it worse; right before the Capricorns attacked them, they were all joking around and having fun, and now they were all on death's doorstep in some way or another.

Much of the morning had been foggy, but it was burning off by the time Jin-Mao, Desdemona, and Ben arrived at the Lougetown City Hospital, a large, seven-story hospital catering to the medical needs of Lougetown residents and visitors alike. Jin-Mao carried several balloons, candies, cards, teddy bears, and other gifts in his arms.

"Now, Jin-Mao, you and your crew don't have to worry about the costs of this hospital stay. Lougetown has free healthcare, and they tax city residents in order to keep healthcare free in the city," Ben explained as they entered the large, sunny lobby of the hospital. In the distance, a man played a fast, but sad, song on a piano while a woman sitting on one of the couches broke down crying.

"That's good to know," Jin-Mao muttered.

"Do you want to visit them alone, or can we come with you?" Desdemona asked.

"I'll go alone," Jin-Mao answered. "I'll meet you back at the Argonaut later."

"Alright," Ben said. "Tell the Libras that I wish them well with their recovery."

"I'll visit the Libras later, depending on how your plan is supposed to go," Desdemona explained.

"It's simple – Tell Fleet Admiral Coby that the Capricorns nearly killed all of my friends, and they'll get booted from that Shichibukai thing they're a part of," Jin-Mao explained. "I think he's at the fair right now, so go catch him before he leaves."

"We'll tell him," Desdemona explained. "In the meantime, spend some time with your friends."

* * *

"You just missed visitation hours for this ward, kid."

A few minutes later, Jin-Mao found himself on the top floor of the hospital, where a nurse stopped him.

"I'm sorry, but you may have heard of that big fight that happened outside of town last night involving the Shichibukai's new lapdogs," Jin-Mao explained, a hint of anger in his voice. "Those were my friends who got hurt by those lapdogs, and I just want to visit them. Is that too much to ask?"

"Visitation hours are over, kid. Come back tomorrow," The nurse explained bluntly. "If you want, I can give those gifts to your friend."

Jin-Mao said nothing as he handed his balloons, cards, and other gifts to the nurse.

"Take it. There's also changes of clothes for them, bath and shower products, food, drinks, and money for each of them. Give it to them when they are ready to be released," Jin-Mao explained before he ran off.

* * *

With nowhere else to go, Jin-Mao headed back to the Coachella alone. The silence aboard the ship was unnerving – Usually, music would be playing on the record player, the television would be on, and/or several conversations would be occurring. The fact that his nakama would possibly die then struck Jin-Mao hard for the first time – He was used to noise and companionship, and the debauched lapdogs of the Shichibukai had to go and take it all away, typical of the World Government.

Unable to bear the silence any longer, Jin-Mao walked over to the record player and began to thumb though the stack of records next to it – Florence's Machine, The White Keys, The Black Stripes, Vampire Weekday, Subarctic Monkey D. Luffys, The Avett Cousins, Feng Feng, and GMGT. Eventually, Jin-Mao stopped looking and pulled out the album for Florence's Machine, took the record out of its sleeve, and placed it onto the record player. Dropping the needle onto the record, the sounds of a song about how the "dog days were over" filled the room. Jin-Mao smiled to himself, then frowned, since nobody was here to enjoy the music with him.

"I knew you would be here."

Startled, Jin-Mao lifted the needle off of the record, ending the song. The Virgos and Eagle Islanders then entered the room.

"How did you know?" Jin-Mao asked slowly.

"Something told me that you weren't able to visit the Libras in the hospital," Desdemona explained. Jin-Mao sighed.

"Tell me about it. Visitation hours ended right when I got to the ward everyone's in," Jin-Mao explained.

"Anyway, you have to come with us. A lot of shit went down this afternoon, and it may please you," Peter explained.

"What happened?" Jin-Mao asked. Richard stepped forward and grabbed Jin-Mao's hand.

"The Capricorns are no longer the Shichibukai's lapdogs, son."

* * *

By that night, the news had shifted away from the death of Trafalgar Wilco and onto a new subject – The Capricorns were unceremoniously removed from the Shichibukai's tutelage for their little fight with the Libras. Now, the Shichibukai were preparing to find a new protégée all over again.

"So… What happened?" Jin-Mao asked.

"We told Fleet Admiral Coby what happened with the Capricorns, and he had them booted from the Shichibukai's new system. They're in a rush to get somebody new," Desdemona explained.

"Why would they boot the Capricorns, though?" Andrew asked.

"Because what the Capricorns did by almost murdering over thirty people is the opposite of what the Shichibukai wants," Arrowe explained. "However, all of the major news outlets and Shichibukai are saying that they left on their own accord."

"Which is obviously bullshit."

Seven jogged up to the group.

"Is that… Seven Weintraub?" Jin-Mao asked.

"In the living flesh," Seven joked. "But, seriously – All of you need to leave the island A.S.A.P. The Capricorns are very pissed off right now, and they're trying feeble attempts at damage control by hosting big parties and dinners. Should you stay here in Lougetown, you're all dead."

"What about my friends?! If we leave, they're sitting ducks for the Capricorns just by being hospitalized!" Jin-Mao cried.

"I was able to pull some strings and make arrangements for that," Seven explained. "Jin-Mao, you are to come with the Virgos until further notice. You will meet up with your crew in Yukijima, which is about a hundred nautical miles from Whiskey Peak, Cactus Island."

A tear fell from Jin-Mao's eye. He had no choice – His crew was in major danger, and he had to go with another crew until everything got sorted out.

"I can't go. My friends need me," Jin-Mao explained.

"You have no choice," Seven answered. "I also have some more bad news – You need to give up one of your crewmembers to the Capricorn Pirates."

With no hesitation, Enoch raised his hand.

"I will go," Enoch answered.

"You can't, Enoch!" Hettienne yelled.

"He has to. The Capricorns have demanded payment and retribution for two crew members who have left their crew, or else they are going to murder all of you," Seven explained. "They already have one guy in their custody – Jax Dormer."

"Jax? Jax Dormer?!" Desdemona cried.

"You know him?" Seven asked.

"Yes, I know him! He's the man who originally protected me from the Capricorn Pirates!" Desdemona screamed. "You have to save Jax and Enoch!"

With a sigh, Seven facepalmed.

"I can't save them. However, there is another faction working to save Jax as I speak," Seven explained. "Are any of you familiar with the Cooro Pirates?"

"Wait… That's Cooro's crew!" Eta yelled.

"Currently, they are working to break Jax Dormer out of the Hyperion, the ship of the Capricorn Pirates. If all goes well, you will be reunited with the Libras, Jax, and Enoch in Yukijima," Seven explained. Enoch turned to his nakama.

"Everybody, I will see you in Yukijima. Don't do anything too reckless," Enoch said before he reached into his coat pocket. "Eta, this is for you. It's my Vivre Card. Pay attention to it, as it can track my location."

Enoch then pulled a Log Pose out of his coat pocket and gave it to Hatori. "Hatori, this is a Log Pose. I want you to act as the navigator until this crew finds one. At the latest, you should have a navigator by Whiskey Peak or Yukijima."

"I will. Thank you, Enoch," Hatori said. Enoch grew silent, the gravity of his sacrifice weighing heavily on his mind.

"All of you, don't do anything stupid. You are on your way to Yukijima for a reason. Don't mess this up," Enoch said. Seven walked up to Griffin and patted him on the back.

"I don't know if you know this, but the Calamity Griffin Crew is here if you want to talk to them before you leave," Seven explained.

"Just tell everyone to stick with you, Seven. You'll be my substitute for the Calamity Griffin Show until I return. I'll be back before you know it," Griffin explained. Seven smiled.

"Take care, everyone. I know that Griffin Gethard is in good hands," Seven said before he walked away.

"This isn't good-bye. We'll see each other in Yukijima in a couple of weeks, so don't fret," Enoch said before he walked away with his head held high, preparing to sacrifice himself to the Capricorns.

"Are you guys… Going to stay?" Desdemona asked the Eagle Islanders.

"We're actually going to Yukijima, too. It's a belated honeymoon thing for Lydia and I, but we can meet up, if you want," Ben explained.

"And by the time we meet up, The Rat and the Mouse will have more members," Andrew added, motioning to Christo, Salieri, and Gidget.

"If any of the Capricorns dare and mess with you, kick their asses extra-hard for me," April said.

"The Grand Line is a dangerous, but rewarding, place. Have fun out there," Richard explained. Lydia then hugged Desdemona.

"Des, I can't thank you enough for all that you've done so far," Lydia said. "May you continue to be a shining beacon of hope in the Grand Line."

"I'll see you guys in Yukijima, right?" Desdemona asked.

"Of course! Look for us!" Lydia yelled over her crew's shouts of "good-bye".

"Take care!" Desdemona yelled to the Eagle Islanders.

"We've met some really good people on this voyage," Gaerik observed.

"And we're going to meet more," Desdemona added. "Let the voyage of the Virgo Pirates commence!"

Desdemona stuck out her hand.

"All for one!"

The rest of the Virgos then put their hands on top of Desdemona's hand.

"…One for all…"

After a moment's hesitation, Jin-Mao put his hand on top of everybody else's hands.

"…And none for the Capricorns!" Jin-Mao shouted, almost in a victorious manner. In that moment of victory and friendship, the Virgos and Jin-Mao temporarily forgot about their sacrifices and heartbreaks and focused on the future to come.

* * *

On board a ship miles away from Yukijima, Zander sat with a girl with electric-blue hair in a side ponytail, a woman with black hair that appeared to have been curled using rag curls, and a man with bright, red hair that reached his chin.

"Tobias Gansevoort, Keela Rondo, and Kiri Wegman, I assume you're from the Pieces chapter of the Revolutionary Army, right?" Zander asked. Kiri then saluted Zander.

"Yes, sir!" Kiri yelled.

"Currently, we are headed to Yukijima, since we have a satellite base there," Keela, who had a Southern accent, explained. "Is there anything you need once we get to Yukijima?"

Zander then pulled out a stack of notecards from the belt of his pants, allowing the three Revolutionaries to look over them.

"When we get to Yukijima, I would like to find the nearest Marine consulate and resign from my post as Shichibukai. I have just handed you my resignation speech to look over," Zander explained.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Tobias asked. Zander smirked.

"If that incident with the Capricorn Pirates has taught me anything, it has taught me how corrupt and decadent the World Government is," Zander explained.

**End of Act I**

* * *

**The Crew so Far:**

**Captain – **Eta Goodwin

**First Mate – **Griffin Gethard

**Scientist – **Desdemona Sheffield

**Shipwright – **Hettienne Leung

**Helmsman – **Matilda Proteus

**Archer – **Arrowe Benton

**Chef – **Gaerik Pratt

**Swordsman – **Eliezer Ciumak, Peter Kearsarge-Hilton

**Fisherman/Navigator – **Hatori Chidori

**Cabin Girl – **Ecru Heath

**Cartographer – **Enoch Takeshima

**Guard – **Isabella Sarutobi

**Temporary Crewmember(s) – **Jin-Mao Xiang

* * *

**The Records - **In order, the artists I referenced with the records were Florence + The Machine (Florence's Machine), The Black Keys (The White Keys), The White Stripes (The Black Stripes), Vampire Weekend (Vampire Weekday), Arctic Monkeys (Subarctic Monkey D. Luffys), The Avett Brothers (The Avett Cousins), Xiu Xiu (Feng Feng), and MGMT (GMGT).

**"Dog days are over" - **The song Jin-Mao listens to on the record player is _Dog Days are Over _by Florence + The Machine, which also served as the chapter title.

**Well, Act I, Lougetown, is over. As you've figured out, Yukijima is going to serve a very big purpose for Act II, since so many story lines are going to continue there.**

**In all honesty, I'm pretty excited for Act II - I've been wanting to do Yukijima for a while, and I finally get to do it. Plus, there's an arc I wanted to do that will happen in two chapters.**

**Oh, the OVA is in the next chapter. Don't worry, it's going to be very light and comedic in content.**

**As always, please review, since I love reviews and we're going to the Grand Line!**


	22. OVA: The Helmeppo Group

**Author's Note: **Everybody, welcome to The Helmeppo Group - A round-table discussion of the world's events on the World Government's public access television station.

Anyway, this OVA is based off of The Hapley Group internet short for Parks and Recreation. It's on Youtube if you want to watch it; just search "Parks and Rec The Hapley Group".

Now, watching the video is not recommended, but it does give a feel of what this OVA is going to be like. Enjoy the OVA! I apologize if the characters seem out-of character, but this OVA is more on the humorous side - Think something along the lines of my crack fic **The DysFUNctional Pirates**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Stauss D. Cooro (Walkman355 owns him) nor do I own One Piece. If I owned One Piece, there would be more OVA episodes.**

* * *

**OVA: The Helmeppo Group**

**Starring: Vice-Admiral Helmeppo, Peter Kearsarge-Hilton, Benjamin "Ben" Wyandotte, Isabella Sarutobi, and Strauss D. Cooro**

* * *

"_Welcome to The Helmeppo Group, a public access, round-table discussion of the news of the world with your host, Helmeppo Morgan_."

Inside of a generic, television studio, Helmeppo sat at a long desk. To his right, Ben and Peter sat on one couch, and Isabella and Cooro sat on the other couch that was to Helmeppo's left.

"Welcome, everyone, to The Helmeppo Group," Helmeppo greeted everyone. "Our first topic – The World's Fair of Lougetown."

"We barely got to enjoy it due to the plot!" Ben, Peter, Isabella, and Cooro yelled.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about how all of you had to leave the fair early," Helmeppo said. "How did you enjoy what little you saw of the fair?"

"It was alright," Cooro said. "The food was a bit overpriced, but that's a fair for you."

"I liked it. Everything was free for me, since I have a Devil Fruit that turns me into a ghost, so I went to the fair the entire time in my ghost form," Isabella explained.

"Isabella, you do realize that's breaking and entering and stealing, right? You just broke several laws by going to the fair in your ghost form," Ben explained.

"Don't tell me what to do, Ben. It's a free country," Isabella bluntly stated.

"Isabella, there is no such thing as a 'free country' in this world. Either the Marines, World Nobles, or a monarchy run each country," Ben explained. "Actually, it's a bit more complicated than that. First, you have to understand that –"

"Peter, we haven't heard your opinion on the World's Fair of Lougetown yet! Why don't you go ahead and say a few words?" Helmeppo suggested.

"The fair was kickass, man! Did you see those girls practicing at the sword tent?! They were so hot, man!" Peter yelled. "One of them even flirted with me, so, of course, I flirted back and got her number."

Isabella, Ben, Cooro, and Helmeppo sweatdropped.

"Our next topic – The overhaul of the Shichibukai system," Helmeppo said. "What did you guys think about it?"

"It was total bullshit," Isabella answered bluntly. "The Capricorns are bad people, and if they stayed, they would have manipulated the Shichibukai into doing worse stuff. End of story."

Everybody grew silent.

"Ghost girl has a point," Cooro said with a shrug. "The Capricorns are jerks. End of story."

"Isabella actually has a different point than that, Cooro," Ben explained. "The new, Shichibukai system was implemented so the Shichibukai could set a better example for everyone. Obviously, the Capricorns failed this rule within a few hours, which is why they got sacked."

"I feel jealous that all of the Capricorns get nice clothes and stuff. Why can't I have that stuff?!" Peter cried.

"I can go into my ghost form, sneak onto the Hyperion, and steal their clothes for you," Isabella offered.

"Isabella, what did we just discuss about stealing?" Ben asked. Helmeppo cleared his throat.

"We'll take a short break," Helmeppo said into the camera.

* * *

"_Up next on The Helmeppo Group…_"

"_Look, Isabella, all I'm saying is that you break several laws when you turn into a ghost._"

"_I can't get caught! Bitches can't capture a ghost!_"

* * *

The scene then cut to Jin-Mao, who was standing in front of the entrance of the World's Fair of Lougetown.

"Please come to the World's Fair of Lougetown, open every day from ten a.m. to midnight," Jin-Mao said, no emotion in his voice since his nakama were still in the hospital. "This fair has it all – Carnival rides, cooking demonstrations, raffles… Hell, there's even going to be a comic and anime convention."

"Out of my way! I've got this!"

Calamity then pushed Jin-Mao away.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Calamity Quintus-Tyler, and I speak for everyone when I say that the World's Fair of Lougetown is awesome!" Calamity said into the camera. "You should all go to the fair because it is awesome and Calamity from the Calamity Griffin Show said so!"

"_And now back to our show_."

* * *

The scene then cut back to Helmeppo, Peter, Ben, Isabella, and Cooro.

"Our next topic relates to our previous topic – The Capricorn Pirates," Helmeppo explained.

"They're jerks and I want them to die!" Isabella yelled.

"Okay… That was a loaded statement," Helmeppo commented. "Does anybody else have any other loaded statements?"

"I've got a loaded statement," Peter said. "What they did to the Libra Pirates was awful. I wouldn't wish it on my enemies, and I wouldn't wish it on the Capricorns themselves. My heart seriously goes out to that Jin-Mao kid."

"I feel sorry for Jin-Mao – No matter how hard he tried, his nakama were still in danger, and he has to pay for it," Cooro explained. "If I were Jin-Mao, I would destroy the Capricorns."

"I think **_everybody_** wants to destroy the Capricorns, except for their lapdogs," Ben pointed out.

"Why do we keep using the term 'lapdogs' to describe the Capricorns?" Peter asked.

"Because it's a fancy-schmancy term to describe a fancy-schmancy crew. You're welcome," Cooro explained.

"I still think they should all die, just saying," Isabella explained. "Why? Well, for starters –"

"_The Helmeppo Group – Every Saturday morning from 2:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. on World Government Public Access channel 2 in Goa Kingdom, channel 3 in Lougetown, channel 4 in Whiskey Peak, channel 5 in Yukijima, channel 6 in Alabasta, channel 7 in Longjing Island, channel 8 in Water Seven, channel 9 in Sabaody Archipalego, and channel 10 in Dressrosa. Join us for a riveting, round-table discussion on the events going on in the world right now._"

* * *

**Well, this was a rather funny OVA in contrast to what just happened in Lougetown. Expect more of The Helmeppo Group after the events of Yukijima!**


	23. Prison Break

**Author's Note: **I don't apologize for four updates within a day - We need to establish Act II, so here we go!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cooro or One Piece. If I owned One Piece, the upcoming Yukijima arc would be canon.**

* * *

**Begin Act II: Yukijima**

**Decadence** [dek-uh-duhns, dih-keyd-ns] - _Noun_

1. _The act or process of falling into an inferior condition or state; deterioration; decay_: "Some historians hold that the fall of Rome can be attributed to internal decadence."

2. _Moral degeneration or decay; turpitude._

3. _Unrestrained or excessive self-indulgence._

4. _The Decadent Movement in literature._

* * *

Enoch locked eyes with the man covered with tattoos for about the fifth time since the Capricorns took him onto their ship and put him in this room. This was Jax Dormer, who Seven had mentioned during their little chat. For somebody with a lot of tattoos, Enoch assumed that Jax had done something horrific to get to where he currently was – The study of the Hyperion.

"They wanted me to remove my tattoos," Jax suddenly said. "They said that the Capricorn Pirates had no place for tattoos."

"Well, if they have no place for tattoos, why do some of the Capricorns have odd hair colors?" Enoch asked. "Think about that, young man."

"I'm not that much younger than you, old man," Jax retorted sarcastically. "I'm nineteen."

"And I'm twenty-five," Enoch replied in the same, sarcastic tone as Jax.

"You win this round, old man!" Jax yelled.

"Boys, what's going on in here?"

A pretty, black-haired woman entered the room, carrying a tray with bread and water on it.

"Really, Matsu? You gave us bread and water?" Enoch asked, inspecting the piece of bread. "You're part of the Capricorns. At least give us something like sushi or Bluefin tuna."

Matsu sighed.

"As your little sister, this was all I could find in the pantry," Matsu argued. "Somebody stole all of our food earlier today besides the bread and tins of sardines."

"I'd rather have the bread than the sardines," Jax stated. Matsu sighed in annoyance.

"Look, if you're going to disrespect me, at least do so when the Capricorns aren't around," Matsu explained. "The Capricorns are here right now, and if they hear you, you could be in a lot more trouble! Be glad I'm related to you, Enoch! If we weren't brother and sister, I would have done something worse than imprisonment!"

With a huff, Matsu stormed off.

"So… Now what?" Jax asked Enoch. "If we want to get away from these psycho fuckers, we need to put aside our differences and work together. It always works."

"Of course, we would need to work together. It's a given," Enoch explained. "However, I have heard word that an envoy would arrive soon to assist us."

"And when will said envoy get here?" Jax asked. A cool breeze then wafted into the room, but the windows weren't open.

"Enoch Takeshima and Jax Dormer, I presume?"

Cooro then entered the room, holding two swords.

"That's us. Are you the envoy?" Enoch asked.

"I am the envoy. Name's Strauss D. Cooro," Cooro said with a bow. "Anything I can do for you?"

"Getting us out of here would be a start," Jax replied sardonically.

"Well, of course," Cooro retorted. "Anything else you need afterward?"

"Get me back to Eta!" Enoch yelled.

"That will take a few days, but you'll be back with her soon," Cooro responded, not dropping his sarcastic tone of voice. "But, we have to move now if you want out! My crew is trying to hold the Capricorns off right now!"

"Right," Enoch yelled before he ran off, with Jax and Cooro following suit.

"_Mayday! Mayday! We are under siege from an unknown force! Report to the upper deck now!_"

"Where the hell did that come from?!" Jax cried.

"Internal P.A. system," Enoch answered. "My sister told me that."

"So… Is Matsu working for them or against them?" Cooro asked.

"At this part of the game, we don't know," Enoch answered as they ran onto the large deck of the Hyperion, where the Cooro Pirates and Capricorn Pirates were locked in a large battle.

"Strauss! What the fuck took so long?!"

Seven ran up to them, a flintlock pistol in his hands.

"We had a little chit-chat about what these captors wanted," Cooro answered. "It _**was**_ part of the deal."

As Cooro spoke, Hana rushed at them, staff in her hands. Without flinching, Seven shot the pistol, hitting Hana in the thigh.

"You think you can get Jax and Enoch out of here?" Seven asked before Hana covered Seven's mouth. Seven then elbowed Hana, but she responded by clamping her hand over Seven's mouth again.

"Try anything funny, and this Shichibukai gets it!" Hana yelled. Jax then walked over to Hana and pried her off of Seven.

"You were saying?" Jax asked.

"I said, 'You think you can get Jax and Enoch out of here'?" Seven repeated himself. Cooro responded by putting his wrists together and extending his index and middle fingers, his right hand facing down and his left hand facing up.

"Tempestra."

As the wind started to pick up around Cooro, a ball of lightning formed between his hands. "Raven's Cry!"

Cooro then shot the ball of lightning into the crowd, knocking out several of the Capricorns.

"What the hell is going on out here?!"

Yuki-Rin stormed outside, katana in hand. Cooro then ran up to Yuki-Rin, and then began to spin in a circle once he got close enough to her.

"Two Sword Style: Crow Style, Soaring Dawn!"

Cooro then brought his blades down, slicing Yuki-Rin from her abdomen to her knees. As Yuki-Rin screamed loudly in pain, Cooro sheathed his blades.

"Run!" Cooro yelled to his crew, Jax, Enoch, and Seven, who began to descend down the gangplank.

* * *

By the next morning, Cooro, Jax, Seven, and Enoch were having breakfast in a diner, discussing the previous night's events.

"So, after we finish breakfast, I will take all of you to Yukijima," Cooro explained. "My crew is currently buying supplies, so between the new supplies and the stuff we stole from the Capricorns, we should be fine."

"Thank you, Cooro. I owe you," Enoch said.

"Have we arranged when we're going to meet up with Eta?" Jax asked.

"I have an Eternal Pose for Yukijima, so we may get there on the same day, give or take a day," Cooro explained.

"Hey, guys…" Seven said, holding up the morning paper. "I think the Shichibukai have found their new protégée."

Jax, Cooro, and Enoch learned into the paper, where a very odd headline greeted them.

**Could a Preteen Join the Shichibukai?!**

* * *

On the Coachella, the Virgos were preparing to leave Lougetown.

"Hey, Jin-Mao, a package came for you," Desdemona said, carrying a large package into the room. Jin-Mao then grabbed the package and set it on the floor. When he opened it, an envelope marked "Jin-Mao" sat on top of something bundled in bubble wrap. Opening the envelope, Jin-Mao pulled out a hundred Beri and a note which read:

**Jin-Mao,**

**We figured you would be going through a very tough time, so we all pitched in to assemble this care package for you ("It was my idea, not Daiyu's." – Mason). Since I was released from the hospital first, I asked the Libras what to get you and where to go. We even got stuff from the Coachella so you would feel like you're back on the Coachella with us. ("Just give back the record player and all of the records, except the Imagine Zombies record since you like them." – Stella-Rondo)**

**As you can see, I returned to the hospital so everybody could make this letter for you ("This was Daiyu's idea." – Nigel). The good news is that we're all expected to make full recoveries, even after what the Capricorns had done to us. Miller, Yukari, Nigel, and Fernando got released today, and everyone else is going to be released either tomorrow or the next day, so I at least have company for now.**

**Please stay safe out there. Already, we all miss you. It sucks that things turned out this way, and I wish something else had happened. We'll see you in Yukijima, guaranteed. **

**Your friends,**

**Daiyu, Yukari, Kazura, Stella-Rondo, Edmund, Rhett, Amelia, Bridey, Locke, Aurelia, Aleksandar, Mason, Pearl, Lien, Miller, Fernando, Alto, Daruma, Marlene, Opal, Alton, Nigel, and Kipton**

Putting the letter in his pocket, Jin-Mao then removed the newspaper and took out the many contents inside of the box – Three boxes of Pocky, a portable record player with five records, several volumes of manga and other comic books, a black T-shirt that said "Cuba Libra" on it in faded, white lettering, a stuffed doll in the design of a yellow mouse, a bag of potato chips, a box of assorted cookies, bottles of soda, the dagger Jin-Mao used during the fight against the Capricorns, and a picture of the Libras, all of them standing in front of the Coachella in the photo.

However, one thing caught Jin-Mao's eye – The Florence's Machines record. Taking the record out, Jin-Mao put the record on the record player and dropped the needle onto the record, the song about how the dog days were over playing through the Argonaut.

"Thank you…" Jin-Mao whispered to himself.

* * *

**Preteen in the Shichibukai - **Major foreshadowing to a future arc. No, this preteen is NOT a Mary Sue/Gary Stu.

**Imagine Zombies - **Reference to the band Imagine Dragons.

**Anyway... We finally hit the Grand Line in the next chapter!**


End file.
